EHR Systems Have 3 Major Hurdles To Overcome Before They Can Truly Improve Patient Care

The vast majority of healthcare facilities have now adopted some form of electronic health records (EHRs), but the transition has been a challenge for many providers. A recent survey by Stanford Medicine has revealed what many doctors already know: that a majority of them are unhappy with their current EHR systems. In fact, more than half of respondents said their current EHR systems need a “complete overhaul.”

EHRs have the potential to revolutionize patient care but maintaining and updating them remains a time-consuming chore. To ensure that patients and providers can begin to derive genuine benefit from EHR systems, the healthcare IT industry has several unique challenges to address.

Interfaces must be easier to use, so doctors can spend less time in front of computers and more time with their patients. They also need to be interoperable, which is a considerable challenge as there are currently hundreds of EHR systems in use. Most importantly, sophisticated data protection measures must be put in place to ensure that sensitive medical information remains private and secure.