Since the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs), US healthcare has seen zero productivity gains, while nearly every other sector has improved output per worker. Healthcare remains stagnant. Imagine a restaurant implementing software for seating, orders, and billing that cut efficiency by 50%. Picture a chef spending as much time on the computer as cooking, or waiters filling out meaningless checkboxes as often as they take orders. That software would be discarded immediately. Would any industry accept "innovations" that slash productivity? These inefficient systems were forced on physicians by corporate conglomerates, not to optimize patient care, but to maximize billing. They’re designed to capture every CPT code, comorbidity, and game the "observed-to-expected" metrics, all at the cost of physician and nurse efficiency. As a result, success in medicine is no longer about diagnostic skill, empathy, or surgical expertise—it’s about surviving the endless clicks required each day. What if "clicks per encounter" or "EHR time outside work hours" were CMS quality metrics, weighted like readmissions or patient satisfaction scores? To reverse the burnout crisis, we must demand that health systems improve EHR efficiency. Repeal meaningful use and inject competition into the EHR market. Improving the EHR will make doctors more efficient, decrease healthcare spending and improve outcomes. Lets make medicine less about clicking and more about healing. @anish_koka @EconTalker @MarilynHeineMD @LeahHoustonMD @ReasObBob @TomRomeo5 @cscla
