Ophthalmologists Worry That EHRs Decrease Productivity, Boost Costs

A new study has concluded that while EHR use among ophthalmologists has shot up over the last decade, most of these doctors see the systems as lowering their productivity and increasing their office costs, according to a survey published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

To conduct the study, the researchers emailed surveys to 2,000 ophthalmologists between 2015 and 2016. The 2,000 respondents, whose responses were anonymous, were chosen out of more than 18,000 active US members of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

The researchers involved found that the EHR adoption rate for ophthalmologists, which is about 72.1%, was similar to rates among other specialties. Nonetheless, it’s a big jump from 2011, when only 47% of the 492 respondents reported using EHRs in their practice.

Most respondents were devoted solely to ophthalmology and had an average of 22 years of practice. They had an average of 5.3 years of EHR use, but nearly the entire group had previously used paper records. Eighty-eight percent of those currently using EHRs had been present for the transition from paper records to digital ones, researchers found.

Not surprisingly, given typical EHR acquisition and maintenance costs, the mean number of ophthalmologists in a given practice was higher among those with an EHR in place than practices without one. Researchers found that when practices were part of an integrated health system, a government health system, the higher the odds of their having adopted an EHR.

While the adoption rate has increased, ophthalmologists actually seem less happy with EHRs than they had been before. For example, many reported that they felt EHRs were undermining both their productivity and financial situation.

For example, more than half of respondents in 2016 reported that their patients seen per day had fallen since adopting EHRs. That’s an unfortunate change in perceptions since in 2006, more than 60% of ophthalmologists saw an increase in productivity after their EHR system was implemented.

Meanwhile, respondents were ambivalent about the impact of EHR use on revenue, with 35% reporting that revenue had remained the same after adoption, 41% a decrease and almost 9% an increase.

Despite concerns that EHRs were undercutting practice productivity, researchers reported that three previous studies of academic ophthalmology practices found no change in patient volume after EHR adoption.

There also seems to be a disconnect between what ophthalmologists think their patients want technically and what they want.  While 76% reported that their patients felt mostly positive or neutral toward EHR use, 36% of ophthalmologists would return to paper records if they had the chance.

That being said, ophthalmology practices do seem to see the benefits in keeping their EHR systems in place. For example, despite the fact that 68% saw paper documentation as faster, 53% of respondents felt their EHRs were generating net positive value.

All told, it seems that ophthalmologists’ concerns about EHR use are working themselves out. However, it also seems as though the doubts we see documented here are deeply rooted and may not go away quickly.

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

   

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