Reducing EMR burnout by removing low-value clicks
Doctors do not hate computers. They hate the 200 extra clicks per day that the computer makes them do. Here is where to start.
When clinicians talk about EMR burnout, they rarely mean the screen itself. They mean the friction — the dropdown that loads slowly, the modal that asks the same question twice, the required field that does not apply to this visit.
Most of this friction is fixable. It is also, oddly, invisible to the people who designed the system.
Audit the click count
Pick one of your most common workflows — say, a follow-up visit for hypertension. Count every click from "patient called in" to "note signed." If it is more than 25, something is wrong.
The usual culprits
Required fields that are not actually required
Every extra required field is a tax on every visit. Question each one.
Modals that ask twice
If the system already knows the answer, do not ask the user.
Pages that reload to save
A save action should not break the user out of their flow.
Hidden defaults
If 90% of your visits use the same template, that template should load by default.
A useful exercise
Shadow a physician for 20 minutes during clinic hours. Note every time they sigh, click the same thing twice, or say "ugh." Each of those is a workflow you can fix this week.
What clinicians actually want
- The right default, prefilled
- Keyboard shortcuts that work
- A note they can sign without leaving the page
- An EMR that does not ask them what year it is
The deeper point
Burnout is not caused by software. But software accelerates it. Quiet, fast EMRs are not a luxury — they are a clinical safety issue. Tired doctors miss things.