Table 2.
Sample use cases for EHR log data
| Stakeholder | Objective | Examples of research questions |
|---|---|---|
| Health system leaders | Improve the patient experience | How do increased staffing ratios impact WOW8, Note-Time8, and the amount of direct face time patients receive from their physician (ATTN)? |
| How do decreases in WOW8, Note-Time8, and IB-Time8 impact appointment availability and continuity? | ||
| Improve access for patients | How do staffing ratios impact the total workload for physicians (ie, patient scheduled time + WOW)? | |
| Improve professional fulfillment | Can EHR use patterns predict future risk of burnout, other dimensions of distress, or professional fulfillment? | |
| Improve retention | Can EHR use patterns predict future risk of leaving the organization? | |
| Improve recruitment | Physicians may choose to incorporate data regarding work outside of work and total EHR time when evaluating a potential employment offer. | |
| Operations leaders | Improve efficiency | Does empowered inbox management by team members reduce physician/APP EHR time after hours? |
| Does advanced team-based care with in-room support35 reduce work outside of work? | ||
| Standardize FTE expectations | How many patient contact hours is associated with a 40-h total work week in across different specialties? | |
| How do changes in staffing ratio, team stability, and team skill level impact work outside of work? | ||
| Understand the costs of compliance decisions | How do requirements that only physicians do certain tasks such as order entry, medication reconciliation, and prohibitions against verbal orders impact WOW8? | |
| Regulators | Understand and evaluate trade-offs involved in a given policy under consideration | Pilot test policies under consideration and evaluate their impact on EHR use metrics before finalizing and implementing. |
| How do requirements that only physicians do certain tasks such as order entry, medication reconciliation and prohibitions against verbal orders impact WOW8? | ||
| What are the time costs associated with prohibiting verbal orders? | ||
| What are the time costs of requiring 2-factor authentication and password revalidation for nonscheduled prescriptions? | ||
| Technology vendors | Improve usability | How does an electronic workflow for order entry impact time on orders? |
| Help clients measure and improve practice efficiency | Provide insight and guidance to help organizations improve efficiency, patient satisfaction, and professional fulfillment for healthcare professionals |
APP: advanced practice provider; ATTN : undivided attention; EHR: electronic health record; FTE: full-time equivalent; IB-Time8: time on inbox per 8 h of patient scheduled time; Note-Time8:time on encounter note documentation per 8 h of patient scheduled time; WOW8: work outside of work per 8 h of patient scheduled time.