Letter to the Editor
As healthcare providers, we spend far too much time documenting in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Each task in patient care requires numerous clicks, pulling us away from what truly matters—our patients. Often caring for multiple patients, nurses must repeat these steps across their shifts, leading to documentation fatigue. This is not only frustrating but also contributes to burnout, impacts well-being, and limits time at the bedside (Lindsay & Lytle, 2022). Moreover, inefficient workflows can affect patient safety (Gesner et al., 2019; Hilty et al., 2022).
Since the introduction of EHRs, documentation burden has only increased, while nurse-to-patient time has decreased. Many nurses find themselves overwhelmed by the demands of the EHR. Though well-intentioned, these workflows often feel disconnected from the realities of bedside care. What’s missing is continuous feedback to our nurse informaticists from the very people using these systems day in and day out—front-line nurses.
EHR systems should prioritize human-computer interaction (HCI) principles and reduce task complexity. Workflows must be intuitive, efficient, and designed with a nurse’s perspective. While informatics teams strive to improve these systems, the most effective solutions will only emerge with direct input from front-line nurses. It’s not about assigning blame; it’s about fostering collaboration. All nurses need to be part of the conversation to ensure that we are working smarter, not with greater complexity, so that we can focus on patient care.
We must advocate for more innovative, efficient workflows that reduce documentation burden and enhance situational awareness. If nurses don’t actively share their ideas and insights, our voices will be overlooked, and we risk perpetuating workflows that fail both nurses and patients. We need EHRs that work for us, not the other way around. Nurses’ input is crucial to designing systems that improve patient care and well-being while reducing burnout.
Let’s ensure that nurses stay where we’re needed most—at the bedside, delivering excellent patient care, and not spending more time tending to the computer than to our patients.
Lee
Lee Taylor-Vaughan JD, MSN, APN, CCRN-CSC-CMC, PCCN, CFRN, NRP
(he/him/his) PhD Student – Data & Systems Science, University of Arizona –
College of Nursing, LeeTV@arizona.edu
References
Boy, G. A. (2017). The handbook of human-machine interaction: A human-centered design approach. Gesner, E., Gazarian, P., & Dykes, P. (2019). The burden and burnout in documenting patient care: An integrative literature review. Studies in health technology and informatics, 264, 1194-1198. https://doi.org/10.3233/shti190415
Hilty, D. M., Armstrong, C. M., Smout, S. A., Crawford, A., Maheu, M. M., Drude, K. P., Chan, S., Yellowlees, P. M., & Krupinski, E. A. (2022). Findings and guidelines on provider technology, fatigue, and well-being: Scoping review. J Med Internet Res, 24(5), e34451. https://doi.org/10.2196/34451
Lindsay, M. R., & Lytle, K. (2022). Implementing best practices to redesign workflow and optimize nursing documentation in the electronic health record. Application of Clinical Informatics, 13(3), 711-719. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1868-6431
