Provider documentation of patient education: a lean investigation.

PURPOSE The study evaluates how providers give patient education materials and identifies improvements to comply with Meaningful Use (MU) requirements. METHODS Thirty-eight patient-provider interactions in two health care outpatient clinics were observed. RESULTS Providers do not uniformly know MU patient education requirements. Providers have individual preferences and find gaps in what is available. Accessing and documenting patient education varies among providers. Embedded electronic health record (EHR) materials, while available, have technical access barriers. CONCLUSIONS Providers' EHR skills and knowledge levels contribute to non-standardized patient education delivery.