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KLAS: Training and governance needed to address EHR burnout
Providers report documentation, messaging and interoperability hurdles when using EHRs, but they see ambient AI as a solution, KLAS revealed.
A new report from health IT insights firm KLAS Research details the connection between electronic health records and burnout and highlights how artificial intelligence and education can improve work-life balance for physicians.
KLAS interviewed more than 35,000 physicians to measure their EHR satisfaction. The guidebook is based on the firm's Arch Collaborative EHR Experience Survey, which includes data from 216 healthcare organizations between 2022 and 2025.
The survey covered physicians' pain points when using EHRs and discusses how ambient speech could alleviate these obstacles. It found that 1 in 3 physicians among respondents experienced symptoms of burnout. Of these doctors, more than half attributed burnout to EHRs. Meanwhile, 33% of the physicians that reported EHR burnout said they were likely to leave their organization in the next two years.
KLAS did not reveal which EHR platform respondents were using.
The report also revealed that less than half of physicians believe their organization has done a great job implementing, training and supporting the EHR.
EHR pain points: the documentation dilemma
The report cited excessive documentation as a common issue among physicians.
It suggested that clinician roles prioritize administrative work over clinical care. In another KLAS report in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, close to 75% of burned out physicians called out EHR documentation as the reason for their burnout.
KLAS also cited messages as a key pain point with 47% of ambulatory care physicians reporting excessive message burden.
"High message volume and unclear response-time expectations are major contributors to burnout among ambulatory care physicians," the KLAS authors wrote. "Many physicians set overly demanding personal standards; those who feel confident in their message management and response times report significantly less burnout."
In the report, a physician noted how messages sent as a request to add decision tools or create order sets sometimes disappear, or an anonymous message comes back saying the task will not be completed.
Interoperability also holds back physicians from accessing external patient data, the report revealed.
"Regardless of EHR vendor, interoperability is a major pain point for physicians amid an already painful EHR experience," the authors wrote.
In addition, 82% of respondents cited slow loading within EHRs as the top reason for physician dissatisfaction with EHR infrastructure, and 62% cited a slow login process.
EHR best practices
KLAS cited ambient speech as a key tool to address documentation burden. Companies such as Suki integrate ambient AI with EHR platforms like Athenahealth. Ambient AI improves work-life balance for physicians by allowing them to close charts faster. A doctor shared in the report that before using ambient speech, they were always running late, struggling with documentation and considering quitting medicine altogether. Ambient speech improved quality of life for the physician.
The report recommended focusing on EHR education, governance and personalization to boost physician satisfaction.
KLAS stressed the importance of EHR training, with 52% of doctors believing their initial training was insufficient. It suggested that physicians receive a minimum of three hours of onboarding EHR training. And they don't need to learn everything all at once. Day one training should only cover what they need to care for their patients, the report recommended.
Organizations should organize their EHR curriculum around ideal organizational, role and specialty workflows.
"When physicians learn to use the EHR within their workflows, they improve efficiency and feel their EHR is more intuitive and has more specialty-specific functionality than their peers," the KLAS report stated.
It also suggested setting up a formal mentorship program to connect new hires and experienced physicians. Trainers should know about particular physician workflows, KLAS noted.
Meanwhile, improving system reliability and response time will play a large role in satisfying physicians' needs, the report said.
KLAS also provided guidance around EHR governance. It recommends building a diverse clinician group to collaborate with IT on EHR-related decisions. It also suggested that organizations align decision-makers on strategic plans and principles regarding EHRs, and IT teams should actively communicate EHR changes to physicians.
To improve EHR infrastructure, KLAS recommended setting service-level agreements for EHR reliability, speed and login processes. Communication between senior leadership and end users about SLAs is a necessity.
"Organizations that successfully minimize burnout and turnover can foster a culture where clinicians, staff and leadership know they are on the same team and value each other's contributions to patient care," the report stated.
Brian T. Horowitz started covering health IT news in 2010 and the tech beat overall in 1996.
