Physicians spend more time on EHR, desk work

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that physicians spend twice as much time on electronic health records (EHR) and desk work than in direct clinical facetime with patients.  Researchers came to this conclusion after observing 57 physicians in four specialties—cardiology, family medicine, internal medicine, and orthopedics—in four states for 430 hours.

The physicians in the study were observed spending 27% of their time with patients and about 49% on EHR and desk work. Even when in examination rooms with patients, physicians would spend about one-third of the time on EHR and desk work and about half the time with patients. Physicians would also spend an additional hour or two after hours doing clerical work on their computers.   

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine