Nurses Agree EHRs Improve Patient Safety, Less Sure About Efficiency
A new survey finds nurses have mixed views on electronic health records.
In a survey conducted by HIMSS Analytics on behalf of Allscripts, the majority of nurse respondents agreed that electronic health records (EHRs) help improve patient safety, make it easier to find comprehensive patient information and enhance collaboration with clinicians inside their organizations.
The HIMSS Analytics Nursing Healthcare Satisfaction Study drew 626 respondents, all registered nurses who represent multiple EHR vendors, types of care settings and roles.
Results include majority agreement on several positive aspects of EHRs:
• 71% of nurses surveyed would not consider going back to paper-based medical records
• 72% agreed that EHRs improve patient safety and help avoid medication errors
• 73% said EHRs enable collaboration with other clinicians inside their organizations
However, nurse respondents were less likely to agree that EHRs help efficiency:
• 49% agreed EHRs enable collaboration with clinicians outside their organizations
• 43% said that EHRs eliminate duplicate work
• 33% said EHRs give nurses more time with patients
"This study is helpful for anyone who wants to better understand how healthcare IT affects nurses, from their point of view," said Brendan FitzGerald, research director at HIMSS Analytics. "Results show that nurses have the highest levels of satisfaction around how EHRs improve the quality of clinical decisions. But there are also findings that indicate EHR vendors could do more to improve nursing workflows."
"Allscripts applauds the work that nurses do every day to take care of patients," Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Paul M. Black said. "Their caring, concern and passionate advice helps shape our vision for the future of health care. This survey has some clear messages about where we, as an industry, can do more to help nurses deliver the best possible care across the many venues that they practice in today."
For detailed results from the survey, view an infographic or download a free white paper.
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Source: Allscripts.