Electronic health records and meaningful use are the new thing in the healthcare industry; and for good reason (Gialanella, Mastrian & McGonigle, 2018). However, Rosenbaum (2015) highlights a gaping fault-line in the EHR industry, and that is the lack of consultation with healthcare professionals in its design and implementation. The EHR was designed to optimize billing and not workflow quality, nor was it geared towards serving the needs and desires of the clinician. Rosenbaum tells of a surgeon’s nostalgia at no longer being able to put a face to the names. Before the auto-populated blandness of the patient chart, the surgeon was able to differentiate and illustrate each patient’s special characteristics in such a way as to make them knowable. Now he feels as if he doesn’t even know these people (Rosenbaum, 2015).
The gap reminds me of the differences between a human relationship and a relationship with artificial intelligence. There are definitely many advantages with having a machine for a companion, but at the end of the day the human relationship is appreciated for its ability to think beyond the metal confines of machinery. In essence, it has heart; and the EHRs may lack that human element that is so treasured for its sacred patient-provider relationship. The relationship is dead without the heart of the clinician to guide the design and implementation EHR, that is if it truly is meant to enhance it.
References
Gialanella, K.M., Mastrian, K., & McGonigle, D. (2018). Legislative aspects of nursing informatics: HITECH and HIPAA. In D. McGonigle & K.G. Mastrian (Eds.) Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. (4th ed. pp. 145-167). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Rosenbaum, L. (2015). Transitional Chaos or Enduring Harm? The EHR and the Disruption of Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(17), 1585–1588. https://doi-org.libpublic3.library.isu.edu/10.1056/NEJMp1509961
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