Benefits Of Electronic Health Records Held Back By Poor Design

Did the rush to implement Electronic Health Records (EHRs) prevent the best system implementations? Larry Pawola, Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Informatics, asks.

The looming deadline for EHR system implementation as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has brought considerable attention to the efficiency and usability of currently available enterprise EHR systems. 

Many healthcare organizations, clinics and practices complain that recently implemented EHR systems are failing to increase patient care and safety, as well as streamline medical information because they are not functionally integrated into the specific environment in which they operate.

While technologically speaking, they are state-of-the-art systems; the interface as well as advanced functions still needs finessing.