Which practice helps reduce the administrative burden of EHRs by offloading data entry?

• A. Offloading data entry to support staff.
• B. Removing templates.
• C. Eliminating auto-fill.
• D. Increasing physicians' data entry time only.

Answer: (A)

Reducing the administrative burden of EHRs is most effective when data-entry tasks are shifted away from physicians to trained support staff. Using clinicians’ time for patient care while specialized staff—like medical scribes or clinical assistants—capture and enter the necessary information helps speed up the encounter, keeps documentation accurate, and reduces after-hours charting. This offloading directly lowers the clerical load on doctors, which is a key factor in decreasing burnout and improving workflow.

Choosing to remove templates or eliminate auto-fill would actually make data entry more time-consuming and less efficient, while simply increasing physicians’ data-entry time would raise the burden rather than relieve it.