Acceptability of Standardized EEG Reporting in an Electronic Health Record.

ABSTRACT

RATIONALE Implementation of electronic health records may improve the quality, accuracy, timeliness, and availability of documentation. Thus, our institution developed a system that integrated EEG ordering, scheduling, standardized reporting, and billing. Given the importance of user perceptions for successful implementation, we performed a quality improvement study to evaluate electroencephalographer satisfaction with the new EEG report system. METHODS: We implemented an EEG report system that was integrated in an electronic health record. In this single-center quality improvement study, we surveyed electroencephalographers regarding overall acceptability, report standardization, workflow efficiency, documentation quality, and fellow education using a 0 to 5 scale (with 5 denoting best). RESULTS: Eighteen electroencephalographers responded to the survey. The median score for recommending the overall system to a colleague was 5 (range 3-5), which indicated good overall satisfaction and acceptance of the system. The median scores for report standardization (4; 3-5) and workflow efficiency (4.5; 3-5) indicated that respondents perceived the system as useful and easy to use for documentation tasks. The median scores for quality of documentation (4.5; 1-5) and fellow education (4; 1-5) indicated that although most respondents believed the system provided good quality reports and helped with fellow education, a small number of respondents had substantially different views (ratings of 1). CONCLUSIONS: Overall electroencephalographer satisfaction with the new EEG report system was high, as were the scores for perceived usefulness (assessed as standardization, documentation quality, and education) and ease of use (assessed as workflow efficiency). Future study is needed to determine whether implementation yields useful data for clinical research and quality improvement studies or improves EEG report standardization.