Why Healthcare Providers Deserve Better EHR Systems

The difficulties associated with the Covid pandemic have largely dissipated, but the challenges facing doctors have not. Clinicians remain stressed. They face more aging baby boomers with complicated health issues and an ever-increasing administrative workload that is often at odds with care delivery.

As a result, physician burnout is at a dangerous level. Many doctors, nurses, and PAs retired early or are in the process of doing so. The search for a primary care physician has become an arduous process for many Americans.

Current EHRs Exacerbate Physician Burnout

Alarmingly, this high rate of attrition persists. A whopping 35% of physicians surveyed by McKinsey stated that they plan to leave their practices within the next five years. And nearly one quarter say they want to leave medicine altogether.

This trend is not sustainable for our healthcare system. As I wrote recently, many of today’s EHR systems were created in the era of flip phones and dial-up Internet and are overwhelmed by today’s requirements. To combat burnout and put the joy back in practicing medicine, we must deploy truly modern systems that use technology to advance, rather than distract from one-on-one patient-doctor interactions. Such systems automate the note-taking process and gather patient data from all relevant sources so that doctors don’t have to play detective searching for key documents.

Oracle’s Next-Gen EHR Can Help

Modern EHRs will harness the latest in cloud computing, AI, and data science to provide a clinical assistant that answers questions, speeds diagnostics, and offers the best treatment options. And, to cap it all, these EHRs must mask that complicated technology, so healthcare professionals can work with their familiar and standard processes. No medical professional should spend time searching different screens, cutting/pasting between documents, or thumbing through faxes.

Delivering on this vision is a monumental undertaking, but we must succeed to protect and enhance both our own health and that of our healthcare system.

For more on this topic, please see my LinkedIn post.