Abstract
Clinical workflow represents the instantiation of all clinical activities. The transition from paper to electronic health records (EHRs) over the past decade has been characterized by profound challenges supporting clinical workflow, impeding frontline clinician ability to deliver safe, efficient, and effective care. In response, there has been substantial effort to study clinical workflow as well as workarounds – exceptions to routine workflow – in order to identify opportunities for improvement. In this paper, we describe predominant methods of studying workflow and workarounds as well as provide examples of the applications of these methods along with the resulting insights. We also present challenges to studying workflow and workarounds, along with recommendations for how to approach such studies. While there is not yet a set of standard approaches, our work helps advance workflow research that ultimately serves to inform how to coevolve the design of EHR systems and organizational decisions about processes, roles, and responsibilities in order to support clinical workflow that more consistently delivers on the potential benefits of a digitized healthcare system.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Improving Workload & Workflows (Reducing Administrative Burdens).
