Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Access
    • Multimedia
    • Podcast
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • Plain Language Summaries
    • Calls for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Job Seekers
    • Media
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • Podcast
    • E-mail Alerts
    • Journal Club
    • RSS
    • Annals Forum (Archive)
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
  • Careers

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Annals of Family Medicine
  • My alerts
Annals of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Access
    • Multimedia
    • Podcast
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • Plain Language Summaries
    • Calls for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Job Seekers
    • Media
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • Podcast
    • E-mail Alerts
    • Journal Club
    • RSS
    • Annals Forum (Archive)
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Follow annalsfm on Twitter
  • Visit annalsfm on Facebook
Research ArticleOriginal ResearchA

Tethered to the EHR: Primary Care Physician Workload Assessment Using EHR Event Log Data and Time-Motion Observations

Brian G. Arndt, John W. Beasley, Michelle D. Watkinson, Jonathan L. Temte, Wen-Jan Tuan, Christine A. Sinsky and Valerie J. Gilchrist
The Annals of Family Medicine September 2017, 15 (5) 419-426; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2121
Brian G. Arndt
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: brian.arndt@fammed.wisc.edu
John W. Beasley
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
2University of Wisconsin College of Engineering, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Madison, Wisconsin
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michelle D. Watkinson
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
MPH
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jonathan L. Temte
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
MD, PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Wen-Jan Tuan
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
MS, MPH
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christine A. Sinsky
3American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Valerie J. Gilchrist
1School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site

The Article in Brief

Tethered to the EHR: Primary Care Physician Workload Assessment Using EHR Event Log Data and Time-Motion Observations

Brian G. Arndt , and colleagues

Background US physicians spend numerous hours each day interacting with electronic health record (EHR) systems, which in turn contributes to work life imbalance, dissatisfaction, high rates of attrition, and burnout. This study assessed primary care physician time and usage patterns interacting with the EHR.

What This Study Found Primary care physicians spent more than one-half of their workday interacting with the electronic health record during and after clinic hours. Research based on data from EHR event logs (an automated tracking feature) and confirmed by direct observation data found that physicians spent 355 minutes (5.9 hours) of an 11.4 hour workday in the EHR, including 269 minutes (4.5 hours) during clinic hours and 86 minutes (1.4 hours) after hours. Almost half of their total EHR time per day (44 percent) was devoted to clerical tasks and an additional 84 minutes per day (24 percent) was spent managing the inbox. Time spent on EHR activities differed by time of day on weekdays and weekends, with weekend EHR work peaking around 10:00 am and 10:00 pm. A number of factors contribute to physician burnout and increased workload related to the EHR, the authors explain. This includes the amount of time required for documentation (84 minutes) and order entry (43 minutes), as well as the inefficiency and distraction of communicating with team members through the EHR instead of verbally.

Implications

  • The authors contend that solutions for common problems in primary care, such as proactive planned care, team-based care, and sharing of clerical tasks, require thoughtful EHR system applications.

  View article

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Early Access
  • Plain-Language Summaries
  • Multimedia
  • Podcast
  • Articles by Type
  • Articles by Subject
  • Supplements
  • Calls for Papers

Info for

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Job Seekers
  • Media

Engage

  • E-mail Alerts
  • e-Letters (Comments)
  • RSS
  • Journal Club
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Subscribe
  • Family Medicine Careers

About

  • About Us
  • Editorial Board & Staff
  • Sponsoring Organizations
  • Copyrights & Permissions
  • Contact Us
  • eLetter/Comments Policy

© 2025 Annals of Family Medicine