EHR training: Are your doctors fully prepped?

If clinicians hope to use electronic health records to improve patient care, they will have to be fully versed in how to use them--but a new survey suggests they are not getting the training they need. An American EHR Partners report reveals doctors need at least three to five days of EHR training, but nearly half (49.3%) receive three or fewer days. The survey, summed up in The Correlation of Training Duration With EHR Usability and Satisfaction: Implications For Meaningful, interviewed more than 2,300 physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who use nationally certified ambulatory EHR products. "What was surprising to me about the study's findings is that there is a mismatch between what the demonstrated needs are and what is actually happening in the market right now," said Alan Brookstone, CEO at Cientis Technologies Inc., in an interview with InformationWeek.