EP446: Hey, Let’s Not Talk About EHRs, With Spencer Dorn, MD, MPH, MHA

In Episode 446, "Hey, Let's Not Talk About EHRs," host Stacey Richter engages Dr. Spencer Dorn, vice chair and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, in a comprehensive discussion about the implications of healthcare technology, specifically electronic health records (EHRs). 

Visit the Episode Page to read the show notes with mentioned links.

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The conversation emphasizes the necessity of understanding technology as a tool that neither possesses inherent goodness nor badness but delivers results based on its implementation and usage.

They discuss the paradoxical nature of technology in healthcare, highlighting how EHR systems can simultaneously empower and overwhelm healthcare practitioners.

Dr. Dorn and Stacey delve into the effects of digital technology on patient-doctor and clinician-clinician relationships, stressing the importance of proper deployment, operational excellence, and continuous improvement to optimize healthcare outcomes. In essence, the episode sheds light on the necessity of viewing technology as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

06:15 Breaking down Kranzberg’s Laws of Technology.

08:16 How do EHRs go right?

12:49 “EHRs empower us with information, yet they also overwhelm us with information.”

16:00 How do EHRs bring healthcare workers closer together?

19:35 The Digital Doctor by Robert Wachter.

21:33 “The whole point of healthcare is to help people live healthier, happier lives.”

22:41 How the same EHR deployed in different places can be more or less efficient.

25:51 Why the problem is not necessarily the EHR but actually operational.

28:51 How technology has also changed our expectations on timing and value.