Improving Clinician Efficiency with Health IT Tools

Healthcare systems worldwide face unprecedented challenges: growing patient volumes, evolving regulatory requirements, and a host of administrative tasks that can overwhelm even the most dedicated clinicians. In the midst of these pressures, a key concern has emerged—physician burnout. This phenomenon isn't new, but its visibility and impact have intensified. Fortunately, as the healthcare industry grapples with how to safeguard both patient safety and clinician wellbeing, innovative technologies are stepping in as potential game-changers, offering solutions like ambient scribe technology and AI-powered medicine wellness benefits.

In a recent discussion on the Clinicians and Leadership podcast, Mark Pratt, MD, an emergency physician and clinical informatics expert, shared valuable perspectives on how technology and healthcare can intersect more seamlessly. Drawing on two decades of experience implementing electronic health records (EHR) systems and other digital tools across hundreds of facilities, Dr. Pratt offered keen insights into what's working, what isn't, and how to transform technology from a burden into a force multiplier for better patient care and reduced clinical documentation burden.

The Problem of Burnout and the Role of Technology

Physician burnout has become a primary concern for healthcare leaders. Oftentimes, it's driven by long hours, administrative overload, and the emotional toll of caring for patients in high-pressure environments. Dr. Pratt pointed out that while technology was initially billed as a solution to reduce burnout, many digital tools have been layered onto existing processes with little regard for clinical workflow.

"We introduced systems that make practicing medicine and interacting with patients awkward," Dr. Pratt observed. "We just kept adding and adding more widgets, more places to document. So it's no surprise clinicians have to spend more time clicking through screens than they do focusing on the real heart of healthcare—the patient interaction."

Instead of alleviating stress, technology can become an additional source of frustration if not thoughtfully implemented. Yet, Dr. Pratt noted that the right solutions and the right process can indeed transform technology into a powerful ally for improving quality of care and reducing the mental burden on healthcare professionals. This is where innovations like ambient scribe technology and digital scribes come into play, offering potential areas for positive impact on patient experience and clinician wellbeing.

Shifting the Focus to Systemic Change

One of the biggest takeaways from Dr. Pratt's conversation is that focusing on individual fixes—like incremental EHR updates—is insufficient. Instead, healthcare organizations need systemic changes that revolve around clinician workflow. Clinicians must have ready access to the data they need, without wading through clunky interfaces or siloed data warehouses.

The evolution of Meaningful Use—now known as Promoting Interoperability—has laid some groundwork for data sharing, but the real-world implementation has often fallen short of its promise. Too many healthcare institutions still struggle to retrieve records or share patient data across different electronic health records systems. Dr. Pratt highlighted that interoperability efforts remain siloed and inconsistent, leaving clinicians with incomplete patient pictures and frequent administrative bottlenecks.

"EHRs talking to EHRs should be simple in theory," he said. "We've made standard fields that everyone agrees on, but that hasn't eliminated the frustration of trying to get a patient's information across health systems."

The Prescription for Improvement

Automated Data Retrieval: Systems that proactively fetch patient data from multiple sources reduce the time clinicians spend tracking down relevant histories.
Seamless Cross-Platform Sharing: True interoperability solutions—like DB Motion, which Dr. Pratt mentioned—go beyond merely storing records; they actively ensure data is structured and retrievable, regardless of the original EHR.
User-Centric Interfaces: Clinicians need systems built around their workflows instead of tacking on features that make sense only from an IT or regulatory perspective. Improving EHR usability is crucial for enhancing healthcare documentation efficiency and reducing after-hours work time.

Engaging Clinicians from the Ground Up

A recurring theme in Dr. Pratt's interview is the critical role of clinician input in designing and implementing health IT systems. Historically, many hospitals and clinics chose or configured EHRs based primarily on cost, executive preference, or IT convenience. Clinicians were often consulted late in the process—or sometimes not at all.

"If you don't bring the clinician to the table while you're creating order sets, documentation templates, or any technology they will use every day, you set yourself up for failure," Dr. Pratt emphasized.

When clinicians are part of the decision-making process, they provide front-line insights about what truly benefits patient care and how to design workflows that feel natural. This sense of ownership also fosters early adoption and reduces pushback when a new tool is finally rolled out. Yet, Dr. Pratt points out that ongoing iteration is just as important as initial feedback:

Continuous Feedback Loops: After clinicians offer their insights and the system is built or updated, leaders should circle back. They should demonstrate how suggestions were incorporated and gather additional input. This cultivates trust and drives continuous improvement.
Administrative and Executive Buy-In: Engagement shouldn't stop with clinicians. When the C-suite is fully on board, they're more likely to invest in the necessary training and system refinements—an ongoing process essential for lasting success.
Living, Evolving Systems: The system at go-live should never remain static. Healthcare standards, regulatory requirements, and even clinical best practices evolve. IT tools must evolve in tandem. "If it's the same as day one, you're not maintaining it the way it needs to be," Dr. Pratt observed.

Balancing Tech with the Human Connection

A common critique of healthcare technology is that it distracts clinicians from meaningful human interaction, undermining patient engagement. People often complain about doctors who spend the majority of the appointment typing rather than connecting with the person in front of them. Dr. Pratt's stance is that cutting-edge digital tools should serve as invisible facilitators of better care, not as obtrusive barriers.

Ambient Listening and AI

One emerging technology Dr. Pratt highlighted is ambient listening in healthcare—ambient clinical documentation systems that capture provider-patient conversations and automatically generate clinical documentation. This can dramatically reduce after-hours charting and help physicians devote their attention to patients during the clinical encounter.

"I've seen it cut down literally hours out of clinicians' days. That's hours they can devote to the fun part of healthcare: interacting with patients, solving problems for them, helping them with medications."

In this scenario, technology doesn't remove the human element; it reclaims it. Clinicians get to focus on active listening, empathy, and personal connection, while an AI-driven ambient scribing system handles the charting. The result is a more fulfilling experience for both provider and patient, with potential improvements in note length and same-day appointment closure rates.

Driving Efficiency Without Sacrificing Care

Of course, the healthcare industry also has to keep a watchful eye on operational efficiency. Growing demand means providers need to see more patients, yet not at the expense of patient satisfaction or clinician wellbeing. According to Dr. Pratt, the trick is to offload "administrative requirements" in a way that frees providers from needless tasks. Whether it's retrieving records, transcribing notes, or even placing routine orders, smart automation can give clinicians back the time and energy they need for face-to-face patient care.

Revenue and Well-Being: Efficiency is crucial for the financial health of any healthcare system, and it also affects clinician income, especially in productivity-based compensation models. By streamlining documentation and data retrieval, organizations can see more patients while preserving high-quality care.
Reducing Nurse Frustration: Nurses, who often shoulder large amounts of clerical work, also benefit from intuitive systems. This improves workplace morale and promotes better teamwork across the care continuum.
Improving Patient Outcomes: When providers have the bandwidth to focus on diagnosis and treatment rather than clerical tasks, they're more likely to catch potential issues, make better decisions, and offer a higher level of care.

Guiding Principles for Successful Tech Adoption

Dr. Pratt distilled several guiding principles that help ensure new health IT solutions support rather than hinder clinicians and patients:

Listen to Clinicians: Much like a patient's history reveals the diagnosis, clinicians' feedback reveals how systems should be designed. They know where inefficiencies exist and can propose the most effective solutions.
Put Yourself in the Patient's Shoes: Developers, administrators, and leaders should ask themselves how they'd want a clinician's attention if they were sick or worried about a loved one. Minimizing technology's interference helps build trust and ensures patient-centric care.
Design for Ongoing Improvement: Technology must stay adaptable. As regulations shift, clinical knowledge advances, and patient expectations evolve, so too must the systems that clinicians rely on each day.

Looking Ahead

The conversation with Dr. Pratt underscores the immense promise of smart, well-integrated technology in healthcare. From interoperability solutions that provide a more holistic patient record to ambient documentation technology that alleviates documentation stress, the future of medicine hinges on improving clinician efficiency without diluting the human touch.

Yet, the path forward isn't simply about more gadgets or new software releases. It's about adopting a systemic mindset: centering technology around natural clinical workflows, ensuring continuous feedback loops, and prioritizing genuine patient-provider connection. If organizations heed these lessons—learning to offload administrative activities and keep clinicians involved every step of the way—technology can finally become what it should have been all along: a truly empowering resource.

In Dr. Pratt's words, "If you can offload those administrative activities to technology, it just puts that time back with the patient and the physician." This shift stands to energize clinicians, enhance the patient experience, and transform healthcare from a realm of burnout to one of renewed purpose and possibility.

For healthcare leaders and clinicians looking to spearhead this transformation, it's essential to remain vigilant: ask the right questions, invite frontline input, and remember that technology should serve people—never the other way around. By focusing on tools that amplify human relationships rather than replace them, clinicians can reconnect with the aspects of care that first drew them to medicine, ensuring that operational efficiency and quality patient care move forward in lockstep.

The integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare, including generative AI and AI-driven ambient scribing, presents exciting opportunities for enhancing clinical encounters and reducing the documentation workload. Solutions like the @DAX medical scribe and platforms such as American Well for Clinicians and athenahealth offer benefits that can significantly impact the outpatient setting. As these technologies evolve, they promise to deliver substantial time savings, improve note generation quality, and allow for more meaningful patient interactions.

In conclusion, the future of healthcare technology lies in its ability to seamlessly integrate into clinical workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and ultimately allow healthcare providers to focus on what matters most—patient care. By embracing innovations like ambient scribe technology and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, the healthcare industry can work towards a future where technology truly enhances the practice of medicine rather than complicating it. The scribing experience is evolving, with digital scribes and outpatient scribe solutions offering new ways to support clinicians and improve the overall quality of care.

<p>interacting with patients solving problems for them helping them with medications whatever it may be rather than sitting in a computer trying to to [Music] document hello I am Zach with the American Journal of healthcare strategy and you are listening to the clinicians and Leadership podcast Series where we focus on empowering clinicians from bedside to boardroom I'm joined today by Dr Mark Pratt Dr Pratt why don't you take a second to introduce yourself tell us a little bit about your experience and how youve got to where you are today sure so hey I'm Mark P I'm an Emergency Physician uh by background and training um I did emergency medicine for about 18 years uh but then kind of uh at the start of that Journey also I was very interested in um informatics and the clinical application into um technology and so actually ended up getting board certified in clinical informatics as well and uh have this is my 20th year working with uh hundreds of different facilities that have implemented um position order entry and documentation software and other uh technologies that relate to healthc care so it's it's been quite a a fun Journey for sure and Dr Pratt I think I think that combination of you your experience within the medical informatics field and your experience as a clinician serving in emergency medicine offers some unique perspectives that I'm I'm excited to dive into today um I think just as we get started we we'll start with just kind of this this question and it's it's it's coming off of a a term that is thrown out quite a bit and experienced by a lot of different Physicians and clinicians and and individuals in the medical field as a whole and it's term of of burnout and there's been a lot of focus over it in the last couple years and and a lot of uh interest in in ways that we can NE negate or reduce this burnout that clinicians and medical staff members are facing how do you perceive the relationship between technology and burnout are are we are we addressing root causes when we try to implement new technology or are we simply just treating these symptoms of burnout yeah I I think um that's been really interesting to watch and so you know I've gotten to watch um how these systems have been implemented for um a long time now and and I think it's it it's really pretty simple to to watch what happened and you know as more and more requirements came along for what was initially called meaningful use and now promoting interoperability um the EHR companies just simply added more widgets or steps or places to document and and it just became more and more additive um and so I think the answer is really simple is that we we've introduced way too many things that uh kind of interfere with that natural clinician workflow and how they want to interact with technology and their patients and so I think if that's the ultimate root cause of of our issues is that we've introduced systems that make make practicing medicine and interacting with um colleagues and and patients very awkward for the clinician and so I think if we focus on bringing it back to you know what makes their day work best for them it it'll be a very simple solution which which I'll talk some more about yeah yeah I'm I'm interested to to hear your thoughts on on this next question a little bit of a followup to that previous question we just had um and and it's a it's a broad question that that a lot of people have put a lot of attention to but I'm I'm interested to hear your thoughts specifically for because of your your experience in both of these fields but what what systemic changes do you think would be helpful to make this this field of Health it a tool for empowerment rather than frustration you've mentioned just we keep adding and adding and adding and that that's taking that's taking clinicians away and and forcing them to learn a almost a completely different language and something that they didn't fully fully go to school for and as technology continues to to go forward and and evolve it it's continuing to add so I'm I'm curious to hear what what systemic changes would would be helpful for empowering your clinicians rather than frustration you know and I and I think um that was the initial intent of of what what meaningful use in promoting interoperability was was really designed to do and if you think about it from a clinician perspective the the clinician is really wanting to get data do something with the data and at the end of the day they're really just documenting and placing orders for a patient those are really the three things and so if you can make those three things as smooth as possible you're really going to address those issues of um a frustration and so I think it's the more clinicians I talk to uh that interact with multiple systems it's really about getting access to data because you know what's more there couldn't be anything more frustrating than trying to get a chart from a particular facility about what happened with a patient at another Health Care system that may or may not be on the same electronic health record um and so it's it's very difficult to get that complete picture of a patient and so you know we really um talk about making that process easy we have a um an application called DB motion that really goes out and looks for that information for the clinician without having them to go manually uh asked for the information and so um you know I think that whole uh problem of interoperability um I think everyone understands it uh everyone knows it's a problem but we're still not to the place where we're anywhere near where it needs to be um ehrs talking the ehrs should be a simple concept and so we've you know we've made standard fields that everyone agrees upon for the most part uh but it's still very difficult to get that complete picture of the patient um especially when it crosses healthc care institutions or or eh our Technologies and so if we can you know if we can continue to Sol work on that problem we'll be in a lot better place um and so I think the access to information is probably the biggest um place we need to focus well and I I think one of the most impactful things about your answer is is that is from not only your personal experience but also in in your conversations you're having with colleagues and other CL clinicians and Physicians and and hearing their frustration um with with this some of the systems and practices that we have in place and so going off of that a little bit I'm I'm interested to hear your your thoughts on the risks of overlooking clinician input during this the selection implementation of these Health Care Systems these it systems and so what what are the risks of overlooking your clinicians and and how can leaders ensure that the voices of your clinicians and your Physicians the people that are going to be using these Tech this technology on a regular daily basis how could how can leaders ensure that their voices are heard yeah and I think and it's the same that answer is the same today as it was when I started this 20 years ago and I would tell people the exact same thing we used to tell people is that clinician input during the process of implementing any technology is a critical piece of making it successful because the last thing you want to do is you know complete this project that was run by um we'll say the the IT staff and the the folks that aren't in the process of actually delivering patient care trying to make it fit and so if you don't bring the clinician to the table during the process of creating order sets creating documentation templates creating any technology that they're going to be using dayto day and then all of a sudden just expect them to naturally adopt it at the end it's going to be it's going to be a fail and so we've seen it happen over and over again and and you know you can you can the same holds true for for any technology company you know you can Implement those systems that same system in a way that's a complete fail or complete success depending on how um how engaged the the clinicians were during the process of building the system and so it's really about how you implement the system and engage those clinicians and and get their input um you know and it's it's been the same you know you'll have that same answer um you know today uh with any system that you're trying to implement um the other I think one of the other key things is is um when you're when you're dealing with clinici is is to follow back up with them so if you've you know if they've given input into a change that they think is going to improve workflow or the clinician experience is you know make sure you've you've come back and once that build has been changed or updated make sure that they understand it show it to them demonstrate how uh you've improved it and they'll really start U you know you'll you'll start gaining more trust from the clinicians in the process that way uh but the more they can be engaged um the better the outcome will be and and the same holds true actually for um administrative and executive buyin you know that we always thought that that was one of the most key principles also is you know uh it needs to be an organizational change and something that's expected um and so the the more administrative and and executive buying you have in the process is also one of the I think one of the critical uh pieces of of making sure it's a a successful roll out an organization as well well and I think you I think you put it really well and and just and promoting buyin and just just asking just asking your clinicians on on what they what would be most helpful for them and then implementing it and then asking them again and that's that is a a a simple concept that that can go a long way and do a lot of good and promote buyin from from your clinical staff and and and and turn also a help Buy in with your executive staff like you just mentioned and I think that that's I think that's a fantastic answer and and a simple solution to a problem that that can seem more complex than we make it yes absolutely and it and it's a living system I mean the the the order sets that you've built on day one when you go live are not shouldn't be the same ones that you're using two years from now so it's a it's a process that that needs to be dynamic and based upon clinici feedback and and constant Improvement um it's never going to be the same system that you had on the first day of of of use and if it is you're not you're not maintaining it the way it needs to be to to promote success in your CLS right well in the medical field as a whole is just such an Ever Changing ever evolving field and if you're not if you're not actively trying to stay on top of it you're falling behind and that that extends the to the implementation of these it systems as well uh shifting shifting gears a little bit Dr Pratt um a common critique of technology is in in healthc care is is this it's it's accused of interfering with the human connection this the patient provider relationship um and in some cases that may be true in other cases it may not be how how can clinicians and specifically your clinician and your physician lead Champion tools that enhance rather than hinder this provider patient relationship yeah and you know um if you think about it from the standpoint of a patient you know they they're going to see their provider because they want to have a conversation with their provider about an issue they're having and if the provider is focused on some piece of technology or typing something in an electronic health record or trying to get information while that conversation is going on it's very distracting and uh and and if you've seen um one of your own providers doing that it's very frustrating and so the more I think we can we can offload some of those tasks and routines to technology like you know go retrieve records for me while I'm talking to my patient or record this conversation and use ambient listening to transcribe my note at the end of this conversation so I don't have to spend time doing it you know the more of those activities we can offload to technology it just puts that time back uh with the patient and the physician which is ultimately what people want from a healthare experience is someone to just listen to what's going on uh with them and help them solve a problem and so um you know one of the things we're working on across all of our ehrs is um is the ambient listening techn ology um and if you've never seen that in action it it is it's it's kind of mindboggling you know the a recording device will listen to the conversation between the patient and the and the clinician and then produce a a note at the end of that conversation with literally no human input and um you know that takes um I've seen it cut down literally hours out of of clinicians days that they would have normally had to be documenting and now they can they can focus that time on on taking care of patients and doing uh the fun part of of of healthc care which is document and so um I think you know focusing on offloading those activities to technology is going to be uh one of the really fun things we'll get to watch um over the next few years well and just the you you mentioned it just as as offloading I love that term and how you can you can enhance that provider patient relationship building trust with those patients because simply you're you're allowing your providers to have a little bit more time with them and to be more focused on on that patient and and really the health health care is a business especially in this country but it's a business of patients and it's a business of patient care um and and anything that in encourages better patient care promotes more a better provider patient relationship is only going to help that provider and that patient and the system as a whole in in the long run and um th this next question is is coming off of that last point you had a little bit um I'm I'm interested in in a in a world I mean we we experience a lot of there's there's a lot of demand of hey see more patience see more patience there's and there's an overwhelming need of patients to be seen by providers and so there there needs to be some this there needs to be efficiency in in the the process how can your leaders your clinician leaders your physician leaders balance the demands of operational efficiency while maintaining the priority of of the well-being of staff and patients because that's that's a common complaint I hear and and a lot of providers have is that they they have to keep going they need to be efficient they can't take an extra second with your patient so how how can leaders help promote this balance yeah and I think these are the these concepts are closely tied together because um the more of those administrative I'll call them administrative burdens like what are you having to document what for some regulation or requirement what are you having to manage what are you having to go find if you can offload those administrative burdens to pieces of Technology you're just going to you're going to open up more bandwidth and so this makes the people that you know want to generate more Revenue happy and at the end of the day you know positions are you know that's how they're they're making their livelihood as well is seeing more patience and so the more bandwidth you open up by eliminating those uh administrative tasks the better and so you got more time that you can speak with your patient you've got more time to um you know spend time at home with your family U nurses get less frustrated if they have access into a system that's more intuitive and so you know at the end of the day um I if the technology piece is not adding to your frustrations uh you've got a lot more um mental Bend with to to work with um the things that are more fun about um Healthcare and so uh you know the pieces of ambient listening generating documentation the the piece about you know if you can go find information about patients and not spend time on the phone trying to locate a record or calling another hospital's medical record department to get a u to get a fact from them you know all of those things just add up and at the end of the day you've spent um you know hours upon hours doing administrative things that are just not the fun part of of being able to take care of patients efficiently well and you you've shared a couple different tools um um just throughout our conversation this far but just it it feels as if in here we are in 2025 on on the precipice of a just Mass implementation of technology that that can really take away those administrative burdens and and really do a lot of good for reducing burnout encouraging your provider patient relationship um I'm I'm curious as like I said said we're we it seems to be we're on the precipice some of it has already happened some of it is becoming more and more implemented as it's coming as it's coming on and it's progressing and it's more widespread what are some guiding principles that that you would set or you think other clinician leaders could set to ensure that technology that is being implemented supports both your clinicians and your patients yeah and that's really just about you know if you if you listen to both of them you know um when I was in um medical school I mean we all all all of our mentors would always tell us you know um the patient if you listen to what they say they're going to tell you the diagnosis they're G to the the story that they're communicating to you is is going to tell you the the problem and it's the same thing about technology so if you listen to the the Physicians that are using the technology they're going to tell you what they need and they're going to tell you how they need it and if you listen to the patient they're going to tell tell you what they need and the information that they they need access to and you know it's pretty simple I mean if you follow those guiding principles you know one of the other guiding principles I talked to our our development teams about is just put yourself in the shoe of the patient um and and you know how would you want us taking care of you or your family member how would you want this software to be developed so that you're not interfering with a clinician in in these ways uh to get get out of their way and let them take care of you or your family member and you know how would you want to interact with a patient portal as a patient and and if you can think of it in those uh in that mindset H you'll always make the right decision because if you're if you're making the right decision for ultimately the the patient who who's seeking care uh it's going to be the right one the same holds true across how we Implement technology systems um so I think it's pretty simple well Dr Pratt we we are really grateful that you are joining us today on the clinicians and Leadership podcast and grateful for your work and in in the ways that you um are are Champion championing championing tough word there the uh just the the provider patient relationship and implementing technology and in these it systems that are only going to encourage um a a better provider patient relationship we're we're excited at what the future holds just for them the continued uh marriage between technology and and medicine and uh we're we're grateful for all that you're doing and uh the way that you do it so thank you for joining us today um and we hope you have a great rest thanks that</p>