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National Trends in Daily Ambulatory Electronic Health Record Use by Otolaryngologists
Author(s) -
Giliberto John Paul,
Ator Gregory,
Carroll Thomas L.,
Chan Teresa,
VahabzadehHagh Andrew
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.29073
Subject(s) - medicine , interquartile range , ambulatory , psychological intervention , otorhinolaryngology , electronic health record , meaningful use , metric (unit) , family medicine , health records , health care , nursing , surgery , economics , economic growth , operations management
Objective Since their development in the 1970s electronic health records (EHRs) are now nearly ubiquitous. This study aims to characterize the daily interactions of otolaryngology providers with EHRs. Methods This study was a cross‐sectional review of provider efficiency profile (PEP) data, as collected by a major EHR vendor. Participating institutions had 6 months of de‐identified PEP data reviewed starting January 1, 2019. PEP data is generated for providers with scheduled patients, both attendings and advanced practice providers (APPs). Time metrics are recorded when a provider is interacting with the EHR including a 5‐second time‐out for inactivity. Results Data on 269 otolaryngologists and 29 APPs from 10 institutions were evaluated. On scheduled ambulatory clinic days attendings spent 70 ± 36 (mean ± standard deviation) min interacting in the EHR versus 108 ± 46 min for APPs. Of the daily EHR time, mean time in notes, clinical review, in basket, orders, and schedule were 30.1 ± 19.4, 9.6 ± 6.1, 7.3 ± 5.8, and 5.8 ± 7.6 min, respectively. Per patient visit, median (interquartile range) time in notes, clinical review, and orders were 3.19 (2.2–4.9), 1.14 (0.63–1.8), and 0.70 (0.47–1.05) min, respectively. Mean progress note length was 4638 ± 2143 characters. Conclusion Otolaryngology providers spend a meaningful portion of their clinic day interacting with the EHR. PEP data may provide means to target interventions and a metric to measure the impact of those interventions on provider EHR efficiency. Level of Evidence 3 Laryngoscope , 131:975–981, 2021