Journal of general internal medicine
-
Prior research has shown that primary care clinicians (PCPs) spend a large portion of clinic visits on tasks within the electronic health record (EHR). However, no time allocation studies have been done in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and little is known about EHR time spent during virtual visits. ⋯ PCPs at the VHA spend between one-third and one-half of each patient visit interfacing with the EHR. Most of this time is spent on documentation and chart review. Less time was spent in the EHR during in-person visits compared to virtual visits, suggesting that clinicians limit EHR task completion when the patient is present. Between patient visits during clinic sessions, PCPs spend 75% of their time working in the EHR. In total, this represents over 2 h per half-day clinic session spent on EHR tasks.