News Feature | June 30, 2014

PCs Number One For Viewing EHRs

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Viewing EHRs Mostly On PCs

Despite the growing popularity of mobile devices, personal computers remain the top choice for viewing EHRs.

Many physicians are falling into the category of “digital omnivores,” using more than one technology during the course of their day. Health IT Outcomes reported previously that an Epocrates study found nearly half of the physicians surveyed were digital omnivores, “connected, mobile-centric clinicians who show preference for mobile screens in all professional tasks and spend more time accessing digital information than their colleagues.”

However, despite the increase of tablet and smartphone use, computers remain the most used technology for accessing EHRs. According to the same Epocrates survey, “Clinicians report an uptick in time spent on computer, the predominant interface for many electronic health record systems.

“As EHR use has increased due to incentives associated with the Affordable Care Act, this has fueled the increased use of computers as many EHR platforms are not mobile optimized.”

“It’s clear there is an opportunity to help healthcare providers bridge the gap between desktop and mobile while minimizing some of the more exasperating EHR pain points,” said Dr. Anne Meneghetti, executive director of medical information at Epocrates, reports EHR Intelligence. “Providers expect EHRs to be mobile-optimized, allowing them flexibility to coordinate administrative tasks anytime, anywhere.”

mHealth News explains that although computers are still dominant, physicians expect to be jumping on the mobile bandwagon in coming years. “Healthcare providers are focused on adopting EHRs first. In fact, according to the report, clinician use of smartphones and tablets has actually declined over the past year while computer use has risen – presumably because clinicians have to use computers in order to use their EHRs. That said, the report also noted that 74 percent of clinicians surveyed expect to use smartphones and tablets in the coming year, pointing to a resurgence in the mHealth trend.”