EHR Usability: What is it?

EHR or Electronic Health Record is a major achievement of healthcare IT industry over the past few years. Whenever we hear about EHR, we hear providers talking about its usability. The promotional plan for EHR by Centre of Medicare and Medicaid is also based on EHR usability. Only those providers and practices are eligible for incentives who will demonstrate meaningful use of EHR. The question of the day is what exactly makes an EHR usable. Can we state an EHR usable if it supports e-prescription and lab connectivity or usability demands more?

EHR usability is quite a complex issue. It is really hard to define exact measures. However, we can say an EHR is usable if it adds to efficiency, is effective and satisfies the end user. The variations are always there. An EHR that may add to efficiency may not be effective. Similarly, different users have different satisfaction level. Another important factor is EHR safety. Does it care for data confidentiality and privacy? Office of National Coordinator (ONC) considers safety as a primary factor to measure EHR usability. ONC is still working on devising a policy to define EHR usability. Till the time a policy from ONC is debuted, we can consider efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction as prime factors of EHR usability.

Fig. EHR Usability