Improving Physician EHR Satisfaction With HIE Interface

A project sponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA) sought to characterize factors, in the context of recent healthcare reform, that are affecting physician satisfaction. The AMA gathered data from 447 physicians in six states; the lengthy report was published October, 2013.
One of the most important determinants in the study was how EHR's are affecting physician practice. The conclusions noted that EHRs have both a positive and negative effect on physician satisfaction. Physicians approve of EHRs in concept, sighting the improved ability to remotely access patient information and improved quality of care. They also noted that physicians expressed optimism about the potential of EHRs to improve physician satisfaction, as EHR technology, especially user interfaces to health information exchanges (HIE), improves.
Those providers who live in western Colorado have the advantage of having access to one of the most advanced, powerful and proven HIEs in the U.S. QHN has operated a fully functional HIE for almost 10 years and is currently interfaced with more than 18 EHRs, with several in the development queue. As EHR technology evolves and interoperability is enhanced, QHN continues to keep pace and provide the technical expertise needed to support the implementation of robust effective interfaces. View QHN's EHR Connectivity Matrix.
"As we have refined the QHN interface process we routinely hear from providers that they immediately see improved efficiency, results flow seamlessly into their EHR, into a logical location, making it so they can now - live in one place -," says Laura Head, EHR Lead for QHN. "The new process facilitates clear communication, between us, the provider and the EHR vendor so through the build and validation process practices can refine work flow and we can work with the EHR vendor to tweak the way the messages flow from the HIE to the EHR."
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