Dive Brief:
- Providers who don't see value in their EMR system may have lower overall job satisfaction, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
- The study, which reached out to 2,590 providers at 131 VA facilities, looked at the relationship between providers' satisfaction levels with EMRs and their decisions to leave their positions.
- The research found that EMR alert supports such as training and monitoring didn't have much impact on provider satisfaction; in fact, they were associated with a greater intention for physicians to quit their jobs, Meanwhile, at high-turnover facilities, providers usually felt that EMR notifications weren't of much value.
Dive Insight:
This study underscores the need to come to grips with health IT alarm fatigue, which is not only a source of work-related frustration for providers, but also a patient care issue. So serious are the clinical implications of alarm fatigue that The Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Event Alert on the subject and is exploring strategies to address the problem.
While the effect of alarm fatigue on patient care is very important to examine, the phenomenon clearly has wide-reaching effects on clinician turnover as well, which also deserves a look. Fortunately, the researchers note, so simple an intervention as educating providers on the importance of the alerts can increase clinicians' acceptance and reduce turnover rates as well as improved job satisfaction.