EHR Backlash Takes Aim At Ineffective, Impersonal Care

When it comes to EHR adoption, the theoretical benefits are not in line with the reality of what’s occurring in the exam room, according to Michael Jones, MD. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, “So much data-gathering, so little doctoring,” the gastroenterologist from Virginia bemoans the current state of EHR use and its negative effects on physician-patient interactions.

“Third-party payors don’t really care what happens in an exam room,” writes Jones. “The visit that you, as a patient, have been anxiously waiting for could just as easily be shoes or oranges or pork bellies to these folks. It’s just a commodity. It’s just data. And now the industry wants it documented in a format that works for billers and statisticians but not so much for doctors: the electronic medical record.”

The one-time researcher, teacher, and administrator rails against the transactional nature of the patient encounter that is the result of a disproportionate focus on documentation...