How clinical-first EHRs can help you win back “pajama time”
Pajama time is that treasured bit of time at the end of the day when you can relax and forget about work for a while. The opportunity to rest and reset is important for your mental and physical health and well-being. As an independent physician, though, you may feel as though you rarely, if ever, are able to enjoy this quiet time at the end of your day. There is hope. Learn more about how clinical-first EHRs can help you win back your pajama time.
A study published in the Annals of Family Medicine found that physicians spent about 90 minutes in their electronic health records (EHRs) after hours and at home, during the time referred to as pajama time. Most providers spend time documenting the patient visit, reviewing lab results, approving prescriptions and refills, reviewing diagnoses from specialty providers, responding to their patients’ question on the portal, and managing the overall health of their patients.
Independent physicians who are transitioning to value-based care, especially, act as the “quarterback” for their practice’s team. They become the default contact for all patient information. The published study was conducted over three years and resulted in some recommendations from the authors involving delegating a number of activities to clinical staff. Their recommendations included:
- Proactive planned care
- Team-based care that includes expanded rooming protocols, standing orders, and panel management
- Sharing of clerical tasks, including documentation, order entry, and prescription management
- Verbal communication and shared in-box work
- Improved team function.
A separate research study referred to pajama time as “working after work” and linked excessive EHR use, along with increased clinical effort, with an increase in physician burnout. The researchers found that the average provider spent 83.3 minutes in the EHR on the days when they did not have appointments and an additional 17.3 minutes after work on days with appointments. The time spent working in the EHR increased as the number of appointment days per week increased.
They found that physicians spent a substantial amount of time in the EHR after hours and on unscheduled days, including weekends. All of the providers participating in the study spent some portion of their time working after work, but physicians with more clinical time were disproportionately spending their pajama time in the EHR. Providers with the most clinical effort, with more than four scheduled days each week, spent an average of 2.8 hours working in the EHR on their unscheduled days, including weekends and holidays.
How can the clinical-first EHR help you get back your pajama time? Elation’s user-friendly EHR solution offers you and your practice the value propositions that enable you to focus on your patient and enjoy your time off after work.
Elation’s clinical-first EHR is designed for you and your patients so you can make the most out of each patient encounter. You can win back your pajama time with a solution that provides:
- Intuitive charting and e-ordering
- Templated notes, automated coding, and clinical reminders
- Integrated, connected patient charts that pull in records from collaborating providers
- Streamline charting and administrative tasks to optimize clinical thinking and automate coding to make sure you get credit for the care delivered.
With the right EHR solution, you can optimize your workflow to benefit your patients and your clinical team. You’ll spend more time with patients, less time on the computer screen, and more time in your pajamas relaxing at home with the clinical-first Elation EHR.
