“Cerner and frankly other EHR companies have done an incredible job of automating processes in digitizing medical records for more than 40 years,” Feinberg said. “In itself, that’s a huge accomplishment. Digitized records, for one, need to be usable. They need to be measured by how they enable caregivers to spend even more time at the bedside and less time at the terminal.”
“Records should help the world avoid, or at least minimize, the effects of the next pandemic,” he added. “Additionally, EHRs should be easy to understand so that patients can avoid unnecessary tests and medications”, Feinberg said.
When healthcare providers cannot easily access patient health information, this creates “noise,” he noted. A clinician should know when a patient’s last colonoscopy happened instead of placing that knowledge burden on the patient. A patient shouldn’t have to spend hours in a reception area waiting for lab results, and should be able to make sense of an explanation of benefits.
“That’s all noise,” he said. “We need to change our mindset. We need to eliminate all of that from the experience that none of us actually signed up for of being a patient.”
Feinberg noted that Cerner’s job is to provide clinicians with the tools that allow them to better care for patients. EHRs should help nurses and doctors avoid errors and provide clinical decision support to suggest treatment paths that might be best, he said.