What A Wonderful And Exciting Study On How Great And Useful The myHR Is!

This article appeared a few days ago. I was really thrilled!

Here is the abstract:

The effect of My Health Record use in the emergency department on clinician-assessed patient care: results from a survey

·         Alexandra Mullins,

·         Renee O’Donnell,

·         Heather Morris,

·         Michael Ben-Meir,

·         Kostas Hatzikiriakidis,

·         Lisa Brichko &

·         Helen Skouteris 

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making volume 22, Article number: 178 (2022) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The emergency department has been a major focus for the implementation of Australia’s national electronic health record, known as My Health Record. However, the association between use of My Health Record in the emergency department setting and patient care is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of emergency department clinicians regarding My Health Record use frequency, the benefits of My Health Record use (with a focus on patient care) and the barriers to use.

Methods

All 393 nursing, pharmacy, physician and allied health staff employed within the emergency department at a tertiary metropolitan public hospital in Melbourne were invited to participate in a web-based survey, between 1 May 2021 and 1 December 2021, during the height of the Delta and Omicron Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria, Australia.

Results

Overall, the survey response rate was 18% (70/393). Approximately half of the sample indicated My Health Record use in the emergency department (n = 39, 56%, confidence interval [CI] 43–68%). The results showed that users typically only engaged with My Health Record less than once per shift (n = 15, 39%, CI 23–55%). Just over half (n = 19/39, 54%, CI 32–65%) of all participants who use My Health Record agreed they could remember a time when My Health Record had been critical to the care of a patient. Overall, clinicians indicated the biggest barrier preventing their use of My Health Record is that they forget to utilise the system.

Conclusion

The results suggest that My Health Record has not been adopted as routine practice in the emergency department, by the majority of participants. Close to half of self-identified users of My Health Record do not associate use as being critical to patient care. Instead, My Health Record may only be used in scenarios that clinicians perceive will yield the greatest benefit—which clinicians in this paper suggest is patients with chronic and complex conditions. Further research that explores the predictors to use and consumers most likely to benefit from use is recommended—and strategies to socialise this knowledge and educate clinicians is desperately required.

Here is the link:

https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12911-022-01920-8

And here is the conclusion of the paper:

Conclusion

This novel paper sought to understand how Australia’s national, personally controlled EHR (MHR) is used in the ED, what the barriers to its use are, and what the perceived impact of use is on patient care in the busy, time-pressured, ED environment. The survey of clinicians conducted in this study suggests that MHR has not been adopted as routine practice in the ED, and that MHR may instead only be used in scenarios that clinicians perceive will yield the greatest benefit—provided clinicians actually remember to use the system. Further research that explores the predictors to use and patients most likely to benefit from MHR use is recommended.

---- End Extract – from same link.

The above link provides access to the full text of the paper.

How amazing that a key issue in usage of the myHR seemed to be having those who said they used the #myHR actually remembering to do so.

I assume that the 18% of the target population  (ED staff) who responded to the survey would be biased to an interested and tech savvy group.

Even those who said they were system users only typically used it once per shift.

Sadly, again, we are left wondering how useful and worthwhile the #myHR is with quite a large effort resulting in a study of questionable utility, with many reporting what they were looking for was not there. Hardly a surprise!

This paper has all the hallmarks of simply – having done the work – finding the need to ‘flog a dead horse’ and suggest more study was needed.

How often have we seen this type of outcome, and when should finally admit the whole thing is an expensive flop that needs the plug pulled?

David.