Finally, An Electronic Health Record That Goes From Time Killer To Time Saver

For years, electronic health record (EHR) software developers have touted the time-saving aspects of their products. What is happening in physicians’ offices and hospitals nationwide tells a very different story.

After clinical visits, physicians spend hours documenting and closing patient files. The EHR software has moved the process from paper to digital, but charting on EHR software has not proven to save a significant amount of time for the physicians. And the emergent problems are significant. The 2019 National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report published last month, found that bureaucratic tasks, such as charting and paperwork were the most commonly cited reason for physician burnout. In January, the American Medical Association warned that physician burnout was an “early warning sign of health system dysfunction to come.” It seems that technology is less a part of the solution and more the problem.

The answer for curtailing this dysfunction may be something that's already in a clinician's pocket! Advanced mobile EHR products, like NextGen Mobile may finally be the solutions that lives up to their claims of saving physicians’ time. The secret behind how NextGen Healthcare’s mobile app saves time comes down to the clinician-centric design. NextGen Healthcare recognized that the provider could no longer be ignored in EHR development and introduced an app to support users during their workday. Clinicians can see their schedules, review charts, prescribe medications, and dictate notes right on their phones and in the exam room. There is also an integrated feature which allows clinicians to conduct telemedicine visits on their phones. 

The results speak for themselves. Using their internal analytics, NextGen Healthcare discovered that on average, NextGen Mobile users save 12 hours a month over users who solely use the desktop version. That’s more than an entire workday per month that can be reclaimed. Further, for clinicians using NextGen Healthcare, more than 90% of the work is completed before 6:00 PM Monday through Friday – a fact which shows that a physician-centric design can relieve the after-hours administrative burden. It seems that burden is shifting to joy as physicians may now find the time to support patient care as well as their personal lives. 

NextGen Healthcare’s mobile solution is the antidote to physician burnout. Having the ability to review charts, dictate notes, and prescribe medication on their mobile device of choice gives providers the freedom to engage with their patients again instead of the computer. This technology helps give physicians their lives back. 

Rusty Frantz CEO, NextGen Healthcare

The promise of tomorrow is the promise of technology, and the clinical expression of these advances are ubiquitous. However, technology, in many instances, has also become an intrusive necessity that has had a negative impact on the practice of medicine. The 4-letter word that seems to be associated with dissatisfaction is time. Pressures placed upon providers to do more have had a direct impact, and this impact can be potentially translated to diminished quality of care. Today, the user experience is a central goal to most technology interfaces. NextGen Healthcare has evolved the UX into the CX (clinician experience) to help optimize engagement, utility and satisfaction of the electronic health record. Simply put, it's about time!

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A version of this article first appeared on Forbes.