Due to rising rates of burnout and depression among health care providers, the U.S. is looking at a projected shortfall of over 3.2 million health care workers by 2026. In parallel, the health care industry is grappling with a 13 percent decline in provider productivity that is directly correlated with the increased adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs). This raises a critical question on how the industry can adopt digital tools to support clinicians and enable more efficient workflows so they can focus their time on what they do best, caring for their patients.

When looking to expand accessibility, provider organizations are challenged to either overburden their clinical staff, rely more on EMRs, or invest in disparate point solutions.

However, these options traditionally don’t take provider experience and well-being into account—a critical concern considering the rising rates of burnout among clinical staff. Given the imbalance in clinical supply and patient demand, physicians cannot be the single solution for care and administrative work. Now more than ever, the industry needs digital tools that streamline efficiency and boost clinical capacity.

The misuse of electronic medical records

A JAMA study found that despite the U.S. having 33 percent more physicians in 2021 than 2001, weekly work hours rose by 7 percent. Interestingly the rise in physician work hours also coincides with an accelerated increase in EMR adoption starting in 2011. Further, the JAMA study found that providers spend 5.5 hours in their EMR for every eight patient scheduled hours. Other studies have found an inverse correlation between health care technology investment and physician productivity.

As a practicing anesthesiologist, I interact with EMRs daily. They are extremely valuable for storing patient records, providing medical history, and facilitating reimbursement. They’re the center of our operation, but I worry that provider organizations are trying to get too much out of them. These data systems were originally designed for longitudinal patient record documentation and to facilitate revenue cycle management.

Over time, provider organizations sought more from these systems, including patient experiences. Unfortunately, modern patient portals are built to serve existing patients without a focus on patient experience or acquisition.

Painful patient experiences and disjointed provider workflows

To increase accessibility provider organizations turned to a fragmented array of health technology solutions — point solutions — to address specific gaps, further fragmenting care experiences. Health care organizations have purchased many point solutions to resolve specific needs and, in many cases, end up with duplicate solutions.

This approach created disjointed workflows for patients and providers, and integrations have become time-consuming and unmanageable.

The promise of care enablement technologies

True care enablement empowers providers to do what they do best — provide care. This requires tools that reduce administrative burdens on clinical staff by offering clinical decision support, documentation automation, and deep integration with existing EMRs. Care enablement across the patient journey is crucial for creating clinical capacity, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing the overall health care experience. By leveraging technology to streamline care delivery, patients receive timely and appropriate care from their initial interaction through post-visit follow-up.

While it will take time and investment to reverse the operational and clinical impact of the clinician shortage, it’s’ critical that provider organizations focused on delivering a patient-centric experience start by lightening the load on stressed and overworked clinicians. This is where technology can make the biggest impact on an organization’s bottom line and patient care.

Aiden Feng is a physician executive.