The Impact of Electronic Health Record Implementation on the Roles of Providers and Coders

One significant feature of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in 2009 is the mandate for providers to constructively utilize electronic health records (EHRs). EHR systems in hospitals typically incorporate the medical record, clinical decision support systems, patient portals, and computerized physician order entry systems. The intended purposes of EHR systems are to reduce excessive paperwork, decrease administrative costs, and to also provide better quality of care through provider and patient coordination. Preliminary research has indicated EHR systems cause disruptions within health care organizations by creating an increased work burden for providers. However, as a new technology, not much is known about the impact of the increased work burden on the roles of physicians, nurses, and coders. The purpose of my research is to discover how the training, transition, and system implementation of EHRs has influenced the workflow of providers and coders and consequently changed their roles within their respective organization. A research team conducted interviews at an academic hospital in the northeastern United States. Through analysis of their data, I discovered that during the implementation phase of EHRs, the training for providers and coders was not helpful; the transition period was chaotic; and the workflow of providers and coders was notably impaired