Becker's Hospital Review

30 CIO / HEALTH IT AMA study: Physicians give EHR usability an 'F' rating By Jackie Drees A n American Medical Associa- tion-led study found that in terms of usability, physicians grade EHRs as an "F" rating and identify them as a cause of burnout, according to a Nov. 14 report pub- lished in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Along with the AMA, researchers from Roch- ester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University School of Med- icine and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford School of Medicine collaborated on the study Researchers surveyed a group of 870 physi- cians from all specialty disciplines between October 2017 and March 2018 for the study. Participants were asked to evaluate their EHR usability by applying the System Us- ability Scale, which is a measure used in more than 1,300 other usability studies from various industries. Results of the study showed that physicians rated EHR usability as a 45.9, which is in the bottom 9 percent of scores across previous SUS studies and categorized in the "not ac- ceptable" range or with a grade of "F." e lower physicians rated their EHR usability, the higher the probability was that they also reported symptoms of burnout. For comparison, users in other SUS stud- ies ranked the usability of "Google's search engine an 'A.' Microwave ovens, ATMs and Amazon got 'Bs.' Microso Word, DVRs and GPSes got 'Cs.' Microso Excel, with its steep learning curve, got an 'F,'" according to Yale News. In Melnick's study, EHRs came in last, with a score of 45 — an even lower "F" score than Excel's 57. In response to the study, AMA released on Nov. 14 the following statement: "It is a na- tional imperative to overhaul the design and use of EHRs and reframe the technology to focus primarily on its most critical function — helping physicians care for their patients. Significantly enhancing EHR usability is key and the AMA is working to ensure a new generation of EHRs are designed to priori- tize time with patients, rather than overload physicians with type-and-click tasks." n Cerner partners with Uber Health: 5 things to know By Jackie Drees C erner will integrate Uber Health's non-emergency transportation ser- vices with its EHR platforms to help reduce barriers to patient care, ac- cording to the companies' October 2019 announcement. Five things to know: 1. Under the partnership, providers will be able to schedule Uber transportation for patients directly from the Cerner EHR to help patients get to their appointments. 2. The patient's information, including name, phone number and pick up address, will automatically transfer into the Uber ride request directly from Cerner's platform. 3. With the collaboration, Cerner and Uber Health aim to reduce transportation barriers that can cause delayed care, poor management of chronic conditions and declining health outcomes for patients. "Our work with Uber Health will give health systems more resources to address some of their patients' challenges in accessing the healthcare they need," said John Gresham, senior vice president of health networks at Cerner, according to a news release emailed to Becker's Hospital Review. 4. Uber Health launched in 2018 and features a HIPAA-compliant platform that allows healthcare providers, payers and others to schedule, manage and pay for rides for patients, according to the release. 5. Uber and Cerner's integration will soon be offered to U.S. providers where Uber services are available. n Athenahealth to roll out customer success managers for EHR support By Jackie Drees W atertown, Mass.-based Athenahealth unveiled various strategy-relat- ed initiatives during October 2019, including the launch of customer success managers for its EHR products. Bret Connor, chief customer officer at Athenahealth, highlighted the new in- vestments in customer support during the Centricity Healthcare User Group conference in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 17. The CSMs are responsible for managing clients' satisfaction with Centricity products. Centricity is an EHR software provider that merged with Athenahealth in 2019 after the EHR vendor was acquired by private equity firm Veritas Cap- ital and Elliott Management-affiliated Evergreen Coast Capital. Athenahealth already has CSMs in place for its Athenahealth product suite. "Athenahealth has an opportunity to build on more than 25 years of success serving great and committed users of Centricity Practice Solution and Centric- ity EHR, as well as more than 20 years of success with AthenaOne clients," said Mr. Connor, according to a news release. Regarding product strategy, Athenahealth aims to improve provider work- flows by enhancing collaboration and access and implementing tools for value-based care insights that allow healthcare organizations to be more proactive with patients. n

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