EHR and PM workarounds reveal the hidden cost of broken workflows

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7/23/2026

Three out of four medical groups report that clinicians frequently (43%) or sometimes (32%) use workarounds for EHR or practice management (PM) system issues, according to a July 21, 2026, MGMA Stat poll. Another 16% said workarounds are rarely needed, 3% said clinicians never use them and 6% were unsure. The poll had 216 applicable responses.

Editor's note: This week's MGMA Stat poll is sponsored by NextGenHealthcare. Don't miss the free July 28 webinar, “Healthcare Has Normalized Broken Workflows: How High-Performing Practices Are Redefining What’s Possible.”

What you told us

Where workarounds show up

Respondents who frequently or sometimes encounter workarounds most often pointed to documentation, clinical intake, order entry, prescribing, referrals, prior authorization and laboratory workflows. Several described templates that require excessive clicking or do not match the way clinicians document care. Others reported entering information on paper before adding it to the EHR, moving between separate systems for laboratory connections or finding that messages do not transfer consistently between the PM system and EHR.

Ordering workflows created particular difficulty when the system could not track each step from authorization through scheduling and results. One respondent said the practice uses a Teams spreadsheet because the EHR does not create work queues to track authorization, scheduling and results. Another cited future lab orders that create substantial additional work for medical assistants.

Respondents named several EHR and PM products, but described similar problems involving configuration, interoperability, system access, upgrades and workflows that do not reflect daily practice.

The impact of extra work

Respondents described duplicate entry, crowded inboxes, manual reconciliation, separate tracking files and extra training. Some reported that one attempted fix created problems for another department or required the practice to purchase another application. One practice leader said inefficient processes can remain in place for years and become harder to correct.

Medical assistants appeared frequently in the comments. Respondents described MAs completing duplicate work, managing future lab orders and compensating for gaps in ordering or referral tracking. These tasks can obscure the staffing cost of an EHR or PM limitation because the work is absorbed into daily operations rather than recorded as a system failure.

Even occasional workarounds add burden

Even respondents who rarely saw workarounds cited outages, authentication requirements, file uploads, data validation and prior authorization as occasional sources of extra work.

Why workarounds become routine

Workarounds survive because they let clinicians and staff complete an immediate task, even when the approved workflow does not support the work.

A 2022 review of 62 studies found that EHR users develop workarounds when system-designed workflows conflict with the work performed in practice. The authors identified possible effects on patient safety, care quality and efficiency. A 2025 review linked poorly designed interfaces contributed to task switching, prolonged navigation, fragmented information, duplicate documentation, and use of outside tools.^1,2

The workaround may keep one task moving while adding reconciliation, tracking, or follow-up work elsewhere. A separate tracking file then must be maintained, reconciled with the official record, and handed off correctly. An unofficial process may also hide the frequency of the underlying failure from practice leaders and vendors.

PM system workarounds can appear in scheduling, registration, eligibility checks, charge capture, claims follow-up, and patient collections. Practice administrators must determine whether the problem stems from system configuration, an incomplete interface, inconsistent training, a payer requirement, or unclear task ownership.

Audit the workflow people actually use

Medical group leaders continue to place EHR usability near the top of their technology agendas. In our 2025 poll, 30% named EHR usability as their leading technology priority, narrowly behind AI tools at 32%. Respondents focused on customization, staff training, templates, messaging burden and manual reconciliation.³

Start with one high-volume workaround. Observe the workflow and record what triggers it, who performs each extra step, how often it occurs, how many minutes it adds and where the information goes next. Then classify the cause: configuration, interface, training, task ownership, internal policy, payer requirement or product limitation.

Address workarounds first when they leave information incomplete, delay care or claims, depend on one employee or send clerical work to clinicians. Translate the burden into staff hours, after-hours documentation, delayed claims, missed follow-up or rework so leaders can compare the cost with the proposed fix.

Include affected clinicians and frontline staff, practice operations, revenue cycle and IT in the review. Vendor representatives may need to explain configuration options or product limitations.

Fix the cause and verify the result

The solution may involve reconfiguring the EHR, repairing an interface, changing task ownership, simplifying a template or retraining users. The American Medical Association’s system-level EHR inbox guidance recommends measuring the current state, removing low-value messages, automating routine tasks, delegating work under clear protocols and creating team coverage.⁴

Before activating another application or automation, define the intended result and how it will be measured. Useful measures include rework, completion time, inbox volume, after-hours EHR activity, claim delays and clinician or staff feedback.

The fix is working when the side spreadsheet, duplicate entry, or manual handoff can be retired without missed orders, messages, or claims.

MGMA and NextGen Healthcare will examine these issues during the free July 28 webinar, “Healthcare Has Normalized Broken Workflows: How High-Performing Practices Are Redefining What’s Possible.” The 60-minute program, beginning at 1 p.m. ET, will explore how practices can redesign operations around patients and providers, reduce friction and turn fragmented data into information leaders can use.

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