Abstract
Description
Our EMRs should empower us, but unfortunately, they often bully and frustrate us. This poem is an expression of my frustration and disappointment with my own EMR. Creating it allowed me to channel my frustration and disappointment.
Keywords: electronic health records, psychological burnout, professional burnout, electronic medical records, computerized medical records systems, medicine in the arts, humanities
Ode to My EMR
When I stare at my computer screen I often start to wonder,
How did my EMR become such an awful blunder?
It obfuscates, confuses, and discourages the user.
Why is it we put up with the control from this abuser?
Remember the owl inquiring “How many licks to the center?”
It’s less than the clicks I use my EMR to enter.
Its efficiency is lacking, as is its intuition.
How many prior versions preceded this edition?
The promise and potential to make our workflow better,
Has turned into a weapon that has put us on a tether,
That makes us feel restricted when we document the stories,
Catering instead to the chart auditors and juries.
Your creators seem befuddled by the reason for a chart.
It looks like they forgot to code an easy place to start,
And a template that allows for a simple SOAP note,
Instead we are saddled with this never-ending note bloat.
I have tried to provide you with constructive criticism.
You respond with suggestions that lack elegant precision.
Your workarounds are endless, as were my hopes and wishes.
There are more bugs in your code than there are in petri dishes.
Have you heard of Beta testing? It seems you skipped that step.
You create new features, but forget to fix your mess.
I no longer hold my breath for your programmers to listen,
But now I just hold out for an executive decision.
Just what are the costs of electronic wicked ways?
Have you heard provider burnout is a thing these days?
Turnover, depression, and working longer hours,
Have a line directly drawn from things that make us cower.
Inefficient, frustrated, or just attenuated,
With the clinical environment this EMR created.
You say this software works? It’s more a thing of torture.
Just burn it to the ground, and let us start all over.
Funding Statement
This research was supported (in whole or in part) by HCA Healthcare and/or an HCA Healthcare-affiliated entity.
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares he has no conflicts of interest.
Dr Clouse is an employee of HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, a hospital affiliated with the journal’s publisher.
This research was supported (in whole or in part) by HCA Healthcare and/or an HCA Healthcare-affiliated entity. The views expressed in this publication represent those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of HCA Healthcare or any of its affiliated entities.