Do Technical Implementations Help Physicians: An Evaluation of a New Procedure Documentation Tool on Provider Efficiency in the Electronic Health Record

Introduction: Provider time spent in the electronic health record (EHR) continues to increase, adding stress to an already demanding field. This study quantified the impact of a new EHR procedure documentation tool designed to reduce charting burden.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the University of Kansas Health System and involved ambulatory physicians from all hospitals who were granted access to a new procedural documentation tool. Data on time spent per chart and clicks per chart per office visit were gathered from the hospital's EHR system. The cohort also completed a survey regarding their self-perceived efficiency in the EHR and charting burden.

Results: The procedure documentation tool was used for 68% (25/37) of eligible procedures at one-month post-implementation. There was no significant difference in minutes per chart between the group that used the tool and the group that did not, although the group using the tool had lower charting time (median difference [MD] = 5.517; 95% CI, -0.283 to 13.317; p = 0.066). A similar trend was seen with clicks per chart, with an MD of 4 (95% CI, -3 to 11; p = 0.25).

Conclusions: While the difference was not significant, this study achieved its goal of quantifying the impact of a health information technology (HIT) project and indicates the need for further examination of how to quantify future projects. It lays the groundwork for future evaluation of similar tools and studies.