Usability of an electronic health record 6 months post go-live and its association with burnout, insomnia and turnover intention: a cross-sectional study in a hospital setting.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess how different groups of health professionals evaluated the usability of a new electronic health record (EHR) and to investigate the association between the usability and burnout, insomnia and turnover intention.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1424 health professionals who worked at a Norwegian University Hospital. The usability was measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS) 6 months after the previous electronic record was replaced with a more comprehensive, sector-wide, patient-centred EHR in 2022.

Results: The median SUS score was 25 (IQR 12.5-37.5) out of 100 and ranged from 15 (IQR 7.5-25.0) among medical doctors to 40 (IQR 27.6-55.0) among laboratory technicians. Nurses reported a score of 25 (IQR 12.5-40.0). In clinical contexts, the median SUS score ranged from 15 (IQR 10.0-30.0) within radiology to 27.5 (IQR 15.0-42.5) within internal medicine, whereas laboratory medicine reported a score of 37.5 (IQR 27.5-55.0). In multivariable analyses using health professionals in the highest quarter of the SUS as the reference, those in the lowest quarter were more likely to report burnout (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.86 to 5.00), insomnia (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.50) and turnover intention (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.53 to 3.64).

Conclusion: Most health professionals across all occupational groups and clinical contexts reported low usability of a new EHR 6 months after go-live. Those who reported the lowest usability were more likely to report burnout, insomnia and turnover intention.