Health system leaders and IT vendors must work together to improve EHR functionality and address clinician burden, according to a viewpoint published in JAMA Network Open written by Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, and William W. Stead, MD.
The authors noted that the term “electronic health record” is a misnomer. Instead, the EHR is a “complex socio-technical infrastructure for automating clinical and administrative workflows within a healthcare facility or system.”
The EHR has many stakeholders, including physicians, health system executives, regulators, and patients whose needs influence EHR capabilities. The authors said that requirements for reimbursement, regulatory compliance, and administrative workflow automation often come before clinical efficiency and effectiveness.
