Time is one of healthcare’s most limited resources. Every minute a physician spends scrolling through a lengthy chart, opening separate records, searching for an outside test result, or trying to verify a medication is a barrier to timely care, and places patient safety and physician mental health at risk.
How Much Time Is Lost to the EHR?
A study of roughly 100 million patient encounters and 155,000 physicians found that doctors spent an average of 16 minutes and 14 seconds in the EHR per encounter. About 33% of that time—over five minutes per patient—was spent on chart review alone. Another time study found that physicians spent:
- 49.2% of the workday on EHR and desk work
- Only 27% of the day in direct clinical time with patients
- An additional 1-2 hours completing EHR documentation at night
Physicians did not earn degrees to be data detectives, but this has reduced them to doing just that, multiple times every day..
The Patient’s Information May Be Digital, But It Is Still Incomplete
The United States has made minimal progress in giving patients electronic access to their health information. Access does not mean the information is connected, organized, or readily available to the physician providing care. In 2024, 59% of individuals had medical information stored in multiple patient portals or online medical records. A patient may technically have access to their records while still having no single, complete medical history to share with every provider. The data exists. The problem is finding it at the right time, in the right system, for the right patient, when care is being delivered.
An Aging Population Exacerbates The Problem
Fragmented records are especially concerning for older adults, who are more likely to manage multiple chronic illnesses and receive care from multiple organizations. According to the CDC, 93% of adults age 65 and older have at least one chronic condition, while 78.8% live with two or more. Every additional provider creates another potential location for important information. Memory is not a reliable substitute for a complete history, particularly during an emergency, a serious illness, or a transition in care.
When Missing Information Becomes a Patient-Safety Risk
CMS describes fragmented care as care in which providers do not communicate effectively, potentially resulting in repeated laboratory tests, incompatible medications, additional appointments, patient confusion, and higher out-of-pocket costs. When the complete medical story is unavailable, clinicians may be forced to make decisions using only the portion of the record they can see. That can contribute to:
- Duplicate tests or imaging
- Medication / Allergy interactions
- Delayed diagnoses
- Unnecessary costs and additional appointments
The physician may know that more information exists. The problem is that there may not be enough time during the appointment to find it.
Better Care Begins With Faster Access to the Whole Story
Physicians do not need another screen filled with more disconnected data. They need relevant, searchable information from every provider, instantly available when the patient is sitting in front of them. MedKaz® provides patients with a secure, portable record containing information from every provider. A physician can open a patient’s Health Summary for a quick overview and search the underlying records when more detail is needed. This faster access can save approximately four to eight minutes during a patient visit. That time can be used to ask another question, explain a diagnosis, review medications, coordinate with a specialist, or make a more informed decision. Because in healthcare, time is not merely an efficiency metric.
One Record. Every Visit. Any Provider. Instant access to complete patient information, so you can focus on what matters most – patient care. Find out more about our Physician Pilot Program. No cost to participate.
