The EHR and the Disruption of Medicine

These complaints might be dismissed as growing pains, born of resistance to change. But transitional chaos must be distinguished from enduring harm. According to sociologist Ross Koppel, who has studied the EHR's limitations and why they've been largely ignored, one key barrier is that physicians who voice reservations are labeled "technophobic, resistant, and uncooperative." But in fact a recent RAND study showed that most physicians recognize the potential of EHRs and appreciate such features as the ability to view data remotely. Nevertheless, the researchers found remarkable EHR-induced distress. They conclude, "No other industry, to our knowledge, has been under a universal mandate to adopt a new technology before its effects are fully understood, and before the technology has reached a level of usability that is acceptable to its core users."