title: The impact of electronic health record use on physician productivity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the impact of the degree of electronic health record (EHR) use and delegation of EHR tasks on clinician productivity in ambulatory settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined EHR use in primary care practices that implemented a web-based EHR from athenahealth (n = 42) over 3 years (695 practice-month observations). Practices were predominantly small and spread throughout the country. Data came from athenahealth practice management system and EHR task logs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed monthly measures of EHR use and delegation to support staff from task logs. Productivity was measured using work relative value units (RVUs). Using fixed effects models, we assessed the independent impacts on productivity of EHR use and delegation. We then explored the interaction between these 2 strategies and the role of practice size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Greater EHR use and greater delegation were independently associated with higher levels of productivity. An increase in EHR use of 1 standard deviation resulted in a 5.3% increase in RVUs per clinician workday; an increase in delegation of EHR tasks of 1 standard deviation resulted in an 11.0% increase in RVUs per clinician workday (P <.05 for both). Further, EHR use and delegation had a positive joint impact on productivity in large practices (coefficient, 0.058; P <.05), but a negative joint impact on productivity in small practices (coefficient, -0.142; P <.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinicians in practices that increased EHR use and delegated EHR tasks were more productive, but practice size determined whether the 2 strategies were complements or substitutes.
authors: University of Michigan, School of Information, 4376 North Quad, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. E-mail: juliaam@umich.edu.
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Adler-Milstein
authors: Robert S
authors: RS
authors: Huckman
mesh_terms: D032022:Delegation, Professional; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D006801:Humans; D011216:Practice Management, Medical; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014481:United States