Nurses have significantly higher levels of EHR satisfaction than providers

A new report from the Arch Collaborative says 62% of nurses reported being pleased with their overall electronic health record (EHR) experience, compared with just 16% of physicians. The group surveyed 70,000 clinicians, including 28,000 nurses.

The report identified two areas of success that successful facilities have in common: strong initial and ongoing education and shared EHR ownership. Nurses typically have a longer training period than physicians, which can have an impact on how comfortable they are using the program. Indeed, 56% of surveyed nurses agreed that their initial training/education factored into their positive response, compared to just 43% of physicians who reported having a strong initial training/education period.

In terms of EHR ownership, nurses (59%) slightly edged out physicians (52%) when asked about their thoughts about the EHR vendor. They were also asked to rate themselves regarding whether they felt a personal sense of ownership over the EHR; 78% of nurses reported their confidence in their ability to use the EHR vs. 56% of providers who reported the same.

Other areas that nurses overwhelmingly expressed greater satisfaction than providers: 67% of nurses agreed that the EHR is helpful in terms of patient safety, while only 47% of providers feel the same. Nearly 62% of nurses report the EHR enables them to deliver high-quality care. Also, 60% of nurses reported that the EHR allowed them to deliver better patient-centered care.

While nurses provided high favorability for the EHRs, they acknowledged there are areas that need improvement. Over half the nurses surveyed reported the need for improved integration with outside organizations. The same number of nurses agreed that the EHR improved efficiency and provided them with needed analytics, quality measures, and reporting.

There doesn't seem to be one particular reason for nurses to get more patient-focused insights from the EHR than providers, according to the report's authors. However, the authors recommend organizations examine why this is the case and how nurses use the EHR to benefit patients as well as how to improve the provider's experiences with EHR.

Source: Nurse Leader Insider