EHRs: Doctor, Patients Not Seeing Eye-To-Eye
Doctors might be missing non-verbal cues from patients by immersing themselves in EHRs; tablets may be one solution
Northwestern University conducted a study to determine if doctors are spending too much time looking at their computer screens and not enough time looking at their patients. “The study found that doctors who use electronic health records (EHR) in the exam room spend about a third of their visits looking at a computer screen.”
"When doctors spend that much time looking at the computer, it can be difficult for patients to get their attention. It's likely that the ability to solve and think creatively is not optimal when physicians' eyes are glued to the screen."
The study consisted of recording 100 doctor and patient visits that involved doctors using computers to access EHRs. The purpose of the videos was to see how eye-gaze patterns affected the communication and the behavior between the clinicians and their patients. It is likely that many doctors miss important non-verbal cues from their patients if they spend too much time looking at a computer screen. This can largely impact the type of healthcare provided to patients.
According to Healthcare Professional Network , physicians spend about one-third of visits with patients using their EHR system in some way. "Even though the physicians' gaze behaviors largely influenced the patients' gaze patterns, the patients spent roughly 12 percent of the encounter gazing at the technology, and there were several cases where the patient never looked at the computer screen."
A press release from Northwestern University, published on Science Daily, explained, "EHRs may serve as an interruption for physicians, but it may also serve as an opportunity for shared engagement when shared with the patients. By understanding the dynamic nature of eye gaze patterns and how technology impacts these patterns, we can contribute to future EHR designs that foster more effective doctor-patient interaction." EHRs are an important healthcare tool when used correctly, meaning patients being allowed more chances to view what is on the screen.
As described on Medpage Today, tablets may be the solution to the eye contact issue. "One of the many complaints around EHRs is they they cause clinicians to divert their attention from patients and make less eye contact. But mobile devices like tablets are seen as a way to make EHRs more user-friendly."
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