It is recommended that doctors receive three to five days of initial training to adequately use their EHRs, but a new report indicates that this requirement is not being met.

The report, released by AmericanEHR Partners, highlights physicians’ experiences with the usability of EHRs to achieve some meaningful use requirements. The survey data, from more than 2,300 physicians, was collected from April 2010 to July 2011 on satisfaction with their use of EHR systems. 

The survey was conducted collaboratively with the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association of Medical Informatics, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Renal Physicians Association.
Key findings from the report include:

• Overall satisfaction with an EHR was highly correlated with whether the respondent was involved in the EHR selection process.
• At least three to five days of EHR training was necessary to achieve the highest level of overall satisfaction.
• Nearly half (49.3 percent) of respondents indicated that they received three or fewer days of training.
• Ratings on ease of use for basic EHR functions required for meaningful use continued to improve with more than two weeks of training.
• Ratings on ease of use for specific meaningful use measures varied significantly.  More training – at least one week – was correlated with improvement in the reported usability of advanced EHR features (e.g. checking patient formulary, importing medication lists and medication reconciliation).

“This report from AmericanEHR Partners demonstrates the power of collecting standardized user satisfaction ratings across multiple specialties,” said Michael S. Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism and quality at the American College of Physicians. “We hope the insights gathered from this report will lead to better strategies for initial EHR training and better usability for clinicians working on meaningful use requirements.”

“The AmericanEHR Partners survey data strongly suggest that many physicians may be receiving an inadequate amount of initial training on how to use their EHR,” said Cientis CEO Alan Brookstone. “Our analysis showed a substantial increase in overall EHR satisfaction after three to five days of initial training.  Consequently, we recommend this amount of training when implementing an EHR system. Advanced meaningful use features, such as formulary checking, required at least one week of training to show a significant improvement in usability.”

The full report, "The Correlation of Training Duration With EHR Usability and Satisfaction: Implications For Meaningful Use," can be downloaded here.