The impact of electronic health record-integrated patient-generated health data on clinician burnout

Abstract

Patient-generated health data (PGHD), such as patient-reported outcomes and mobile health data, have been increasingly used to improve health care delivery and outcomes. Integrating PGHD into electronic health records (EHRs) further expands the capacities to monitor patients' health status without requiring office visits or hospitalizations. By reviewing and discussing PGHD with patients remotely, clinicians could address the clinical issues efficiently outside of clinical settings. However, EHR-integrated PGHD may create a burden for clinicians, leading to burnout. This study aims to investigate how interactions with EHR-integrated PGHD may result in clinician burnout. We identify the potential contributing factors to clinician burnout using a modified FITT (Fit between Individuals, Task and Technology) framework. We found that technostress, time pressure, and workflow-related issues need to be addressed to accelerate the integration of PGHD into clinical care. The roles of artificial intelligence, algorithm-based clinical decision support, visualization format, human-computer interaction mechanism, workflow optimization, and financial reimbursement in reducing burnout are highlighted.

Keywords: clinician burnout; electronic health record; human-computer interaction; mobile health; patient-generated health data; patient-reported outcomes.

Figure 1.

Conceptual model of the integration of electronic health record (EHR) and patient-generated health data (PGHD) with the impact on clinician burnout. PRO: patient-reported outcome.

Figure 2.

Modified FITT (Fit between Individuals, Task and Technology) framework of electronic health record (EHR)–integrated patient-generated health data (PGHD) and factors associated with clinician burnout.