The Electronic Health Record Inbox: Recommendations for Relief
Christine A. Sinsky, Tait D. Shanafelt, Jonathan A. Ripp
Abstract
T he inbox has become unbearable. A challenge before the pandemic, the electronic health record (EHR) inbox has become Sisyphean-an involuntary, never-ending, afterhours second job for physicians, 1 contributing to burnout 2 and which may lead some physicians to reduce clinical work or leave medicine altogether (a particularly urgent issue given the predicted shortages of physicians which has been exacerbated by the pandemic). In this commentary, we identify the scope and origins of this new workstream, make recommendations to reduce the volume of low-value inbox messages, and suggest practice models and payment modifications to better manage those elements of inbox care that serve the patient.