Physicians spend more than half their time on EHR tasks

Editor's Note

Primary care physicians spend more than half of their workday typing data on a computer screen and completing other electronic health record (EHR) tasks, this study from the University of Wisconsin and the American Medical Association finds.

During a typical 11.4-hour workday, physicians spent nearly 6 hours on data entry−4.5 hours during clinic hours and 1.4 hours after clinic hours.

An overhaul of EHR systems is needed to address the lack of actionable data for patient care, convoluted work that takes time away from patients, and long hours added to clinical days to complete quality reporting and documentation requirements, the authors say.

PURPOSE Primary care physicians spend nearly 2 hours on electronic health record (EHR) tasks per hour of direct patient care. Demand for non-face-to-face care, such as communication through a patient portal and administrative tasks, is increasing and contributing to burnout.