EHRs and impact on medical care a prime source of docs’ ire

About 70 percent of physicians wouldn’t recommend their profession as a career, with electronic health records systems being a major source of dissatisfaction.

Dissatisfaction with the profession is so high that more than half of physicians say they are contemplating retirement within the next five years—including a third of those under the age of 50.

Results of the nationwide Future of Healthcare Survey, by The Doctors Company, were based on more than 3,400 physicians, and showed significant unhappiness with the current state of EHRs and how they affect their delivery of healthcare.

In fact, the survey collected 2,291 written responses voicing physicians' frustration at how EHRs and value-based care and reimbursement (pay for performance) are compromising the traditional doctor-patient relationship.

Some 54 percent of physician respondents say they believe that EHRs have had a negative impact on the physician-patient relationship. Researchers say that doctors are concerned that EHRs are burdensome and distracting during patient interaction.

Additionally, 61 percent of responding physicians reported that they believe EHRs are having a negative impact on their workflow, with many suggesting that EHR requirements are a major cause of burnout. In additional, an identical percentage believe records systems have a negative impact on efficiency and productivity.

Part of their frustration comes from interactions with the vendors supplying the systems. In fact, nearly seven out of eight physicians (86 percent) reported a neutral or negative experience with EHR vendors. Comments about EHR vendors were mostly negative, The Doctors Company says.

The survey found that 43 percent of physicians believe value-based care will negatively impact physician-patient relationship. Many doctors worry that pay-for-performance reimbursement doesn’t take into account the nuances of the doctor-patient relationship and puts a focus on population-level data instead of individual outcomes, researchers note, based on respondent comments.

In addition, 61 percent of physicians believe value-based care will negatively impact their practice. “While comments from doctors acknowledged that this paradigm shift puts a positive emphasis on quality improvement, many are concerned that it will be particularly difficult for independent practitioners to keep up,” the report on the survey notes.

The Doctors Company is the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, which has 79,000 physician members.