Study finds need for performance standards for EHR usability, safety

WASHINGTON — A novel new study involving clinicians using electronic health records (EHRs) to perform certain common tasks provides compelling evidence that the design, development and implementation of these systems need to be improved to make them easier to use by clinicians and, ultimately, safer for patients.

The study, entitled “A usability and safety analysis of electronic health records: a multi-center study,” was published July 2 by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. It was conducted by researchers with MedStar Health’s National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, the American Medical Association (AMA), and others, and was funded by the AMA. Researchers focused on the two largest EHR vendors, Epic and Cerner, who comprise more than 50 percent of the market. They conducted the study at two sites per vendor, or four health systems.