Healthcare organizations and hospitals can use data from EHR Software timestamps to enhance clinical workflows. According to a recent study published by JAMIA, the valuable data helps healthcare providers to smooth out scheduling tasks and analyze Electronic Health Records (EHR) Software usage.
Timestamp data allows healthcare researchers, systems, and medical practices to measure exam lengths and other care-related tasks that require time allocation providing actionable insights into the patient journey process.
Major findings from the research into EHR timestamp data
Medical Care recently published a study to find out how healthcare providers were spending time with their patients using timestamp data and information. The data can be used to identify how this time can be allocated efficiently and therefore improve clinical workflows which is crucial for stable productivity levels.
In the study, 21 million primary care visits that took place in 2017 were evaluated and the following insights were revealed;
- On average primary care, the exam was 18 minutes lengthier
- On average, exams went 1.2 minutes long
- More than 66% of patient visits went off agenda for more than 5 minutes on average
This reflects that physicians must strike the right balance of time spent with their patients. Spending excess time means your practice is wasting time and resources and both are valuable for success.
Using EHR Software timestamp data to enhance EHR Software use
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software solutions can be of great benefit for medical practices, however when the provider spends a lot of time with the software system then it causes physician burnout and dissatisfaction. A difficult-to-use EMR Software system may hinder care quality.
When EHR Software systems are used to collect and provide meaningful insights then providers can gauge scheduling guidance and identify how they allocate their time with patient interactions. Practice efficiency and productivity can be improved by;
- Deploying user-friendly EHR Software systems that helps to reduce physician burnout allowing clinicians to do what they love to do that is spending time with their patient.
- Using timestamp data to analyze clinical workflows.
- Interoperability options and data standardization developments.
- Using EMR Software data for content of scheduling and time spent in follow-up care to monitor the appointments that yield greater patient outcomes.
Final takeaway
Using EHR data allows providers to objectively measure the time spent with patients which may ultimately help to make appointment scheduling and other administrative tasks more efficient, optimizing the physician’s time. The study also reflects that using existing EMR Software timestamp data can help medical practices enhance productivity and increase patient satisfaction scores.
