With the ARRA, you would assume that physicians would be waiting in line to purchase and implement an Electronic Health Record (EHR).  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Currently, many physicians are resisting this change until the guidelines have been clarified.

However, this has not prevented physicians from looking at EHR systems. 

It’s sad to say, but physicians do not like what they see and they believe that the systems are not easy to use.

This is just another barrier to EHR adoption.  A paper from HIMSS has named ‘usability shortcomings’ as a key factor in EHR Adoption.  HIMSS researchers have argued that usability should be part of the EHR certification process.  If this were part of the certification process, it will appease physician’s concerns because they will understand that they are looking at a user-friendly system.

Unfortunately, several systems say that their system is ‘easy to use.’ However, for many people it will take months just to understand the interface and workflow.   No one wants to spend months learning a system.  If physicians have to conform, they want something that they can begin using quickly.  Although many vendors state that physicians have the ability to being using the software ASAP, the physicians are hesitant to believe this because they simply do not understand the EHR.

It is evident and has been reported by HIMSS that poor usability has reduced the number of EHR adopters.

Tags: ARRA, ehr, emr, emr usability