The Purpose of an EHR

Illustration by Ben Wiseman, from The New Yorker

“Why Doctors Hate Their Computers”, this was the title of the article I was reading in The New Yorker back in 2018. Ironically, I stumbled upon this article while on my break from my medical scribing duties at 8:30pm. After a 12-hour day I was still working with my doctor in completing our documentation duties along with assisting him in reviewing labs, refilling prescription requests, signing off on pre-operative clearances, and reviewing referrals to specialist physicians. I was physically and mentally exhausted, and I was not even the person who was seeing patients and making recommendations and critical decisions for their lives! So, I began to think there, what was the purpose of an electronic medical record? What was the point of computerized advancement if it was taking valuable time from patients?

In an idealized world these systems would work perfectly. Physicians would be able to focus on the patient physician relationship and build and foster the trust that is needed to form that bond that can direct the course of someone’s life and help them live their life to the fullest. It would also allow all the relevant information that physicians use to decode medical mysteries in the most efficient manner that in no way paper chart could ever do streamlining decision making. However, this is not the case currently. Adoption has not been even, and many areas of the highest need do not have the resources to assist in this transition. This lack of support has affected both physicians and patients.