Electronic Medical Record usability and patient safety – through the eyes of physicians

graphic emr article

16.05.2025 – Despite widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs), concerns persist regarding their usability and implications for patient safety. David Schwappach from ISPM together with colleagues from Switzerland and the US developed and validated a new survey instrument that reliably captures physicians’ perceptions of EMR usability – with a focus on patient safety–relevant domains.

Nearly 2,000 physicians from hospitals and outpatient settings across Switzerland report on their EMRs usability. Key results:

  • 56% reported their EMR does not support patient safety
  • Average usability ratings reached just 52% of the maximum possible (hospital physicians: 49%, outpatient physicians: 63%)
  • Usability ratings varied significantly across EMR systems (Eta-squared η²=0.37 in hospitals), but also between local implementations and less among users.

These findings underscore substantial limitations in current EMR systems and reinforce the value of comparative usability assessments to inform targeted improvements in digital health infrastructure.

The study is available open access: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-025-01657-4