'Much bigger than just a global pandemic': How hospitals can plan crisis EHR documentation

In a preview of their HIMSS22 session, Serena Bumpus of Ascension and Stephanie Hoelscher of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center explain their Texas pilot study on crisis documentation during COVID-19 surges and how it could lessen the burden on nurses.

EHR documentation burden is not a new concern, but the problem came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic as nurses and other clinicians were under growing pressure to provide care to more and more patients during virus surges. How do we document things that really do need to be put into the electronic health record?" Stephanie Hoelscher, DNP, associate professor and informatics nurse specialist at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, told MobiHealthNews. At the same time, EHR documentation changes can sometimes cause friction, even when those updates are backed by evidence. Making changes during a high-stress time like a COVID-19 surge can also be difficult, because the EHR may suddenly look a lot less familiar.