Introduction: Electronic Health Record (EHR) use can enhance or weaken patient-provider communication. Despite EHR adoption, no validated tool exists to assess EHR communication skills. We aimed to develop and validate such a tool.
Methods: Electronic-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (e-CEX) is a 10-item-tool based on systematic literature review and pilot-testing. Second-year (MS2s) students participated in an EHR-use lecture and structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Untrained third-year students (MS3s) participated in the same OSCE. OSCEs were scored with e-CEX compared to a standardized patient (SP) tool. Internal consistency, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity were analyzed.
Results: Three investigators used e-CEX to rate 70 videos (20 MS2, 50 MS3). Reliability testing indicated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.89). MS2s scored significantly higher than untrained MS3s on e-CEX [e-CEX 55(10.7) vs. 44.9 (12.7), P=0.003], providing evidence of discriminant validity. e-CEX and SP score correlation was high (Pearson correlation=0.74, P<0.001), providing concurrent validity evidence. Item reduction suggested a three-item tool had similar explanatory power (R-squared=0.85 vs 0.86).
Conclusion: e-CEX is a reliable, valid tool to assess medical student patient-centered EHR communication skills.
Practice implications: While validation is needed with other healthcare providers, e-CEX may help improve provider behaviors and enhance patients' overall experience of EHR use in their care.
Keywords: Communication; EHR; Electronic health records; Electronic medical records; Evaluation; Patient-provider relationship.
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