Providers with robust electronic health records who participated in an accountable care organizations or patient-centered medical homes were the most likely to routinely perform certain care processes, according to a study published in The American Journal of Managed Care.
The authors, using data from physicians participating in the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Physician Workflow Survey, also found that organizations using EHRs were more likely to perform such processes compared to those who didn't use the systems. The processes examined for the study included quality measurement, population management, communication and care coordination.
Physicians who used EHRs and participated in an ACO or PCMH were between 6 and 22 percentage points more likely to routinely perform care processes than physicians that just used EHRs.
Electronic health records increasingly are becoming an integral part of ACOs, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2014 quality and financial performance results.
However, the authors added that overall, performance of care processes remained low across the board, regardless of EHR use or particiaption in ACOs and PCMHs.
"Our analysis highlights several specific areas--including population management processes that require the aggregation and analysis of individual patient data and communication with patients and other care team members--where additional technology and policy supports may be important to facilitate wider adoption of these activities," they said.
To learn more:
- here's the study