What Would Abraham Think About EHR Adoption?

By Sanin Rahman

No, I’m not talking about Honest Abe or the ancient prophet. I’m talking about a lesser known Abraham, the 20th century psychologist Dr. Abraham Maslow, creator of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You might be asking how a theory on human psychology is relevant to EHR adoption or Meaningful Use, but I believe there is an important connection to consider.

To start, the theory states that there is a hierarchy of physiological and psychological needs (as seen above) that all people must satisfy in order to reach their full potential as individuals and members of society. On the first level are our basic physiological needs – food, water, oxygen, shelter and sleep. As Maslow points out, unless these essential needs are met, we can’t really focus on very much else. From there, we can begin to tackle greater needs like companionship, achievement, and self-actualization.

When it comes to EHR adoption and Meaningful Use, there are similarly very basic needs that must be met before moving on to the more profound goals at play. How many times have you heard that logging into a computer takes too long, the EHR system is often down, or the software is too complicated? Applying Maslow’s theory, none of the important goals related to Meaningful Use (improving outcomes, engaging patients, coordinating care) can be achieved unless the system is easy and efficient to use. If it proves too difficult on a day-to-day basis, providers and their teams will resist and initiatives will stall. Period. In the world of EHRs, it’s the operational challenges (system performance, network issues, user interface complexity, etc.) that are the equivalent of Maslow’s basic human needs.

Another important thing to remember is that healthcare providers’ top priority – providing care to their patients – can be done without the use of an EHR. This means we must change the way we approach the challenge of EHR implementation and adoption to make them want to use this “additional” piece of technology to provide care. To do this, we simply can’t afford these systems to be frustrating or difficult to use.

Once this is achieved and EHRs are successfully integrated into providers’ day-to-day activities without being bogged down by delays, an organization can begin to focus on how to use the system to improve care and the overall health of patients. That’s the real point of Meaningful Use.

Just something to think about….

Thank you, Dr. Maslow.