Evaluation of Physicians' Electronic Health Records Experience Using Actual and Perceived Measures.

Background: Inadequate electronic health record (EHR) interface design hinders the physician-EHR experience, which may lead to increase physician frustration and fatigue levels.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the physician EHR experience by evaluating the congruency between actual and perceived measures among physicians with different EHR expertise and utilization levels.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional EHR usability study of intensive care unit (ICU) physicians at a major Southeastern medical center. We used eye-tracking glasses to measure provider EHR-related fatigue and three surveys to measure the perceived EHR experience.

Results: Of the 25 ICU physicians, 11 were residents, nine were fellows, and five were attending physicians. No significant differences were found between actual fatigue levels and their perceived EHR usability (p=0.159), workload (p=0.753), and satisfaction (p=0.773).

Conclusion: We found that there was low congruency between physicians' EHR-related fatigue and the perceived ratings for usability, satisfaction, and workload, which suggests using actual and perceived measures for a comprehensive assessment of the user experience. EHR-related fatigue may not be instantly felt by some physicians, hence the similar rating of perceived EHR experience among physicians.