Electronic Health Records Linked To Much Better Quality Care

Date: Oct-17-2012Doctors who go digital do appear to provide significantly better health care, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

US health authorities as well as the federal government itself are pushing doctors, clinics and health centers to move into the digital world. The US government has introduced incentives worth up to $29 billion for "meaningful" use of EHRs (electronic health records). Health authorities say with such modern technology doctors, clinics and hospitals will be able to better track and improve patient outcomes.

The uptake of electronic health records in the USA has been much slower than in other developed nations, such as the United Kingdom. However, over the last two years doctors, clinics and hospitals have caught up rapidly. In February 2012, Kathleen Sebelius, US Secretary for Health and Human Services announced that American hospitals have doubled their usage of electronic health records over the last two years.

Studies have come back with conflicting reports on whether electronic health records really are better than paper records. An article in the American Journal of Managed Care reported that electronic health records use only had a "limited" effect on improving medical care quality in American hospitals.

Lisa Kern and team set out to determine what effect EHRs might have on the ambulatory care quality in a community-based setting. They compared the performance of doctors who used electronic health records to those with manual (paper) records.

They gathered and examined data on 466 primary care physicians (general practitioners) who had a total of 74,618 patients. They all worked in private practices in the Hudson Valley, New York.

The researchers focused on nine specific measures:

cholesterol testing
colorectal cancer screening
eye examinations
hemoglobin testing
renal function testing for patients with diabetes
screening for breast cancer
screening for chlamydia
sore throat testing for children
upper respiratory infection treatment for children

Fifty-seven per cent of the GPs in this study had electronic health records and used them, while the the rest were still on manual paper systems.

The researchers found that overall, those with electronic health records provided superior health care services compared to the paper-records ones. In these four measures, doctors with EHRs were considerably superior in their quality of care - Chlamydia screening, breast cancer screening, hemoglobin testing in diabetes, and colorectal cancer screening.

Overall, electronic health record usage leads to better health care services, the researchers found

In an Abstract in the same journal, they concluded:

"We found that EHR use is associated with higher quality ambulatory care in a multi-payer community with concerted efforts to support EHR implementation. In contrast to several recent national and statewide studies, which found no effect of EHR use, this study's finding is consistent with national efforts to promote meaningful use of EHRs."
Doctors generally welcome electronic health record usage
On October 5th, 2012, the American College of Physicians (ACP) published a study which showed that the vast majority of doctors believe electronic exchange of health data will have a positive impact on improving patient-care quality, coordination care, and will meet the demands of new care models.

Michael S. Barr, MD, FACP, MBA, who leads ACP's Medical Practice, Professionalism & Quality division, said:

"The exchange of patient health information across care settings is a critical component to the success of the new models to improve care, such as the patient-centered medical home. ACP agrees with the 78 percent of survey respondents who believe that exchanging health information will have a positive effect on clinicians' ability to meet the demands of these new care models."

However, over 70% of physicians reported problems when trying to digitize their systems, including:
Lack of interoperability
Lack of an information exchange infrastructure
Costs - setting up and maintaining interfaces and exchanges are not cheap

How do patients feel about having their medical records digitized?
In New York State, patients have to consent to having their data accessed through a health information exchange (HIE). In general, they are happy for their data to be shared electronically, as long as their privacy is respected.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College telephone-surveyed 170 residents and found that over two-thirds of respondents were happy to have their health data automatically stored in an HIE.

The majority of people surveyed (86%), said they needed to have safeguards against unauthorized viewing of their data. Eight-five per cent wanted to know who was viewing their information.

Among the one-third of respondents who were not happy about having their records stored for HIE, 78% wanted to be able to approve all data explicitly.

The video by HealthIT.gov below explains the advantages of electronic health records

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.