83 percent of physicians perceive traditional retrospective CDI queries as very disruptive to clinical workflows, according to a recent study by Nuance Communications. The study found that practicing physicians that the level of disruption increases with the passing of time after they’ve documented, Business Wire, reports.
With the upcoming ICD-10 transition, physicians are more pressure than ever to produce more accurate, complete and compliant documentation. The recent Nuance study of more than 187 practicing physicians in midsize or large practices and hospitals highlights physician attitudes toward clinical documentation technology and processes. Findings show that 71 percent of practicing physicians would be more responsive to front end clinical documentation improvement (CDI) clarifications delivered in real-time within their normal EHR documentation workflow.
Related: The 5 Biggest Lessons in ICD-10 Clinical Documentation Success
Other key findings of the Nuance survey include:
- 97 percent see technology as a growing portion of how they do their jobs, and they want to be involved in technology decisions
- 66 percent or more of practicing physicians were not involved in clinical documentation technology decisions for their organization
- 71 percent value information delivered at the point of care and would respond more frequently to requests for information well timed and within their natural documentation workflow
- 98 percent find that any time they needed to “go back” and respond to a coding issue was disruptive and time lost
- 88 percent would invest time, see fewer patients and earn less money for 6-9 months to be deeply involved in clinical documentation technology evaluations and implementations
Allowing physicians the front end ability to ensure documentation is accurate from the start within the EHR can help reduce physician frustration and optimize clinical workflows.
“Rework in clinical documentation tells us by its nature that errors in the clinical record were significant enough to impact coding, which means that they are also significant enough to impact patient care,” says Dr. Paul Weygandt, M.D. vice president of physician services at Nuance.
For a summary of Nuance’s research on physician attitudes towards clinical documentation and technology, visit http://www.nuance.com/ucmct/groups/healthcare.
Related: 5 Key Elements of Successful Clinical Documentation Solutions
