New technology that fixes the problems of the EHR is the best way to reduce physician burnout
Its time to admit that health care technology has largely failed to deliver on its promise to make the management of patient care simpler, easier, and less stressful for clinicians.
Two decades ago, technology was presented as the solution to so many of the U.S. health care systems ills. EHRs and other tools were going to streamline recordkeeping, allow seamless communication between providers and payers, and, most importantly, free up clinicians to spend more time on patient care and less on administration and paperwork.
Unfortunately, EHRs are sticky in that everyone uses one, but they lack in driving clinical outcomes as a standalone solution - which just makes things worse and detracts from payer/provider alignment. This is in direct contrast to what I encountered growing up in Israel, where patients, physicians, and the national insurer are all fully integrated, both in terms of interoperability and alignment of interests.
Technology hasnt improved efficiency to the extent promised or inserted more caring into health care. It hasnt driven down costs for patients and payers, and it hasnt saved practices money. As a result, providers at all levels are still working below their licenses.
Tech-driven burnout
Nowhere is techs failure clearer than its role in clinician burnout, a long-smoldering problem that has burst into flames since the introduction of the meaningful use incentive program.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm on clinician burnout in an advisory this May. The report detailed how an already serious problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing providers to leave medicine in record numbers at a time when theyre needed more than ever before.
The advisory concluded that the country needs 1.1 million new registered nurses and faces a projected national shortage of more than 3 million low-wage health workers. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of as many as 139,000 physicians by 2033, with the greatest gaps in primary care.
The Surgeon Generals report is only the latest piece of research to cite administrative demands and EHRs as leading causes of burnout. It found that, on average, for every one hour of direct patient care, a primary care provider will spend two hours a day on administrative tasks. That not only frustrates clinicians, but it also contributes to poorer health outcomes for patients.
Tech is the answer
So, whats the solution to technology-caused burnout? Technology.
It seems counterintuitive to prescribe technology to treat burnout caused by technology, but the answer is not simply more tech, but better tech tech that will finally deliver on those 20-year-old promises.
Of course, theres no turning back the clock. Were not going back to paper records and manila folders. The American health care system will not be streamlined and simplified anytime soon; it will remain a thicket of incompatible systems and competing priorities.
Only tech whose design and processes are informed by the failures of previous systems can solve these problems. Unlike current systems, these tools will need to increase the efficiency of clinicians using them and drive down costs.
The good news is the problems arent insurmountable. In fact, theyre being addressed right now.
Fixing EHRs
And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wasnt referring to health tech when he wrote this, but any provider who has spent hours staring at a poorly designed EHR interface can relate.
Its not surprising that a 2020 study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that EHRs scored in the bottom 9th percentile of technologies when evaluated for usability. They were supposed to package multiple streams of patient and payer information into simple, easy-to-manage bundles. That hasnt happened.
But EHR experiences can be improved, primarily in two ways. The first is by investing in local provider organizations to improve workflows, implement user feedback loops, etc. The second is to deploy complementary tech solutions that improve the user experience, such as robotic process automation, integrated workflows, and EHR overlays.
These solutions can make health workers more efficient by reducing the need for them to manage disparate workflows, thereby lowering labor costs, and making it easier to manage the health worker shortage. EHRs are here to stay. Technology that understands this and mitigates their shortcomings for clinicians are indispensable in combating rising health care costs and reducing burnout.
Ending non-productive work
Tech is simultaneously overwhelming and underperforming.
Clinicians and others must use too many tools and click too many times only to be delivered insufficient results.
Too many tech tools and non-integrated data sources result in information silos; obtaining a comprehensive picture of a patients care can require assembling data from emails, paper notes, EHRs, portals, and even faxes.
That sort of copy-and-paste recordkeeping wastes time and leads to lost data, compromised patient information, and poor patient experience. Health workers need a way to assemble all the information from multiple sources into a user-friendly interface.
Tech can consolidate touchpoints and tools and implement interoperability standards. Automation of routine tasks, such as checking authorizations, handling referrals, and entering ICD codes, reduces the number of tech touchpoints and frees providers to focus on the far more crucial lifesaving work we ask of them.
Turning technology around
Everyone from patients to payers has an interest in keeping clinicians happy, engaged, and, most importantly, on the job and operating at peak efficiency.
Independent practitioners often suffer the most from tech burnout because they have fewer resources and less time to manage administration. As a result, many surrender and sell their practices to health care systems just to free themselves from drawing under administrative demands. However, that can result in higher costs for society and poorer care, while also carrying its own stresses for clinicians.
Tech that empowers smaller, independent practices to not only stay viable but to succeed in shared initiatives, such as value-based care models, can help preserve the dwindling ranks of independent practices and general practitioners.
Poor technology got us into this mess; good technology can get us out. In fact, its the only thing that can.
Oron Afek is the CEO of Vim, a technology company building digital infrastructure for U.S. health care.
Read more from the original source:
Can Technology Solve the Burnout It Helped Cause? - Medical Economics
- Technology Synonyms, Technology Antonyms | Thesaurus.com - January 7th, 2017 [January 7th, 2017]
- Information technology - Wikipedia - January 7th, 2017 [January 7th, 2017]
- Technology and Electronics Reviews - USATODAY.com - January 7th, 2017 [January 7th, 2017]
- Technology Forum - reddit.com - January 7th, 2017 [January 7th, 2017]
- Technology: Industries: PwC - January 22nd, 2017 [January 22nd, 2017]
- National Education Technology Plan - Office of Educational ... - January 22nd, 2017 [January 22nd, 2017]
- Technology News - The New York Times - January 24th, 2017 [January 24th, 2017]
- Computer Business Review - Computer Business Review - January 24th, 2017 [January 24th, 2017]
- Technology - Pogue's Posts Blog - The New York Times - February 2nd, 2017 [February 2nd, 2017]
- What the Tech: Neuro-Bio Monitor Technology - KFDX - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Globalization failed too many people. Here's the technology that could help it work for everyone - Quartz - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Bill Nye forecasts next 50 years, says we're at a technological crossroad - Digital Trends - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Interview with Matt Nix about his new Fox show APB. - Slate - Slate Magazine - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- In This Year's Super Bowl Of Technology, Intel Led The Way With A Sky Full Of Drones - Forbes - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Learning From Last Year: Technology Funding Outlooks For 2017 - Forbes - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Ossia hires new CEO to help commercialize its wireless charging technology - GeekWire - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Microsoft's AI group debuts customizable speech-to-text technology, rapidly expanding 'cognitive services' for ... - GeekWire - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- A flare for self-destruction: How technology is the means, not the cause, of our demise - National Post - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Broadcaster dangles new technology for Winter Olympics - Reuters - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- These Four Black Women Inventors Reimagined the Technology of the Home - Smithsonian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- How 3D and Self-Design Will Change Technology - Huffington Post - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Factory Boss Says Fishing Technology Could Improve Controversial US Border Wall - Voice of America - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Republicans Aim to Kill Election Technology Standards Agency - Gizmodo - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Solutions replace technology as the focus at ISE 2017 - Installation International - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Five Rules That Define The Technology Innovator - Forbes - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Three Ways That Digital Technology Can Help Chemical Producers - Forbes - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Cinematographers Deploy Innovative Technology to Create Better Images - Variety - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- How Technology Transforms Dreamers Into Economic Powerhouses - Forbes - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Coming technology will likely destroy millions of jobs. Is Trump ready? - Washington Post - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Mysterious $5 Billion Biotech Moderna Hit With Legal Setback Related To Key Technology - Forbes - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Berlinale: Jury Talks Up Art But Politics and Technology Enter Discussion - Variety - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Opinion: Harry Boxer's stocks to watch: biotechnology and technology - MarketWatch - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Nasdaq plans venture arm to invest in financial technology: sources - Reuters - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- A modern-day Rosie the Riveter campaign: Women in technology - The Hill (blog) - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- A growing concern: Technology and transportation - Florida Today - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Top 10 Mobility Technologies Market by Technology & Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 - Yahoo Finance - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Volvo melds technology and luxury in the XC90 T8 hybrid - Engadget - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- CEFC warns against risky investment in 'clean coal' technology - The Guardian - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Scientist calls for industrial scale-up of greenhouse gas-eating microbe technology in UK - Phys.Org - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Software company introduces game-changing technology for Michigan Realtors - HousingWire - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- New laser technology enables more sensitive gravitational-wave detectors - Phys.Org - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Why Quotient Technology Inc. Stock Surged 21% Higher on Friday - Fox Business - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- How Technology Is Improving Influencer Marketing (And Can Help Improve Your Brand) - Forbes - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Hands-on: EVGA's sensor-laden iCX technology revolutionizes ... - PCWorld - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- New Ground Technology uses digital graphics on turf - Golf Channel - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Facing State System review, Cal U to emphasize science and technology - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- International Game Technology: A Lottery Bet That's Paying Off - Barron's - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Our seas have become a plastic graveyard - but can technology turn the tide? - Telegraph.co.uk - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Technology identifying fastest checkout lanes comes to metro - KCCI Des Moines - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- This Technology Could Be a Game-Changer for the Marijuana Industry - Fox Business - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Editorial: Higher education and technology are job creators, so why is the governor cutting their funding? - STLtoday.com - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- BLAEDC: Entrepreneurs find a technology-friendly home in the Brainerd lakes area - Brainerd Dispatch - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Small cell technology is large endeavor for state - Crain's Cleveland Business - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Eye tracking technology will change these 4 domains - The Next Web - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- The technology fixing Britain's parking problem - The Independent - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Tim Cook: Augmented Reality is as big of a technology as the smartphone - BGR - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- How technology is encouraging society to be stupid - The Next Web - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- IBM Adds Voice Help to Cybercrime-Fighting Watson-Powered Weaponry - Campus Technology - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Market Higher As 4 Key Steel, Technology Stocks Top Buy Points - Investor's Business Daily - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- A look at North Korea's missile launches and technology - ABC News - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- The CFO Imperative: Next-Gen Technology Drives Cost Optimization - Knowledge@Wharton - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Technology puts 'touch' into long-distance relationships - Phys.Org - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- A New Angel Investing Platform Connects Deep Technology And Science Startups With Capital - Forbes - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Formula 1 now capable of 'internet' broadcasts with new technology - autosport.com - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- How dangerous is technology? - OUPblog (blog) - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Apple's Eddy Cue says technology companies have a responsibility to combat fake news - Recode - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Valentine's day: what's your secret technology crush? - Naked Security - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Parents and technology How much is too much? - WGBA-TV - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Is Magic Leap Lying About Its Acid Trip Technology? - Vanity Fair - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- BYU-Idaho dedicates and showcases new Science and Technology Center - LocalNews8.com - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Even Indian technology entrepreneurs think they are living in a ... - Quartz - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- 3 tips for regulating our kids' technology use - The Herald-Times (subscription) - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Don Cunningham column: Technology giveth, and it taketh away - Allentown Morning Call - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Warren Buffett's Increasing Passion For Apple And Technology - Forbes - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- DNA technology gives new face to decade-old cold case - The San Diego Union-Tribune - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Can Technology Really Solve China's Healthcare Crisis? - Forbes - Forbes - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Emerging technology is keyword: Demand for experts in robotics & big data up 50% - Economic Times - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Five technologies that will change how we live - Financial Times - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Football League agrees to use goalline technology in Championship - The Guardian - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Telecom operators navigate three technology transformation options - TechTarget - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]