DOC News August 1, 2007
Volume 4 Number 8 p. 10
© 2007 American Diabetes Association
Electronic Medical Records Don't Guarantee Improved Care
Implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) system in a medical
practice does not assure quality care for people with diabetes, according to a
study reported recently in Annals of Family Medicine.
A group of researchers audited medical records from 13 practices with EMR
systems and 37 practices without them. The medical practices, located in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were participating in a practice improvement
study. For each practice, investigators looked at adherence to guidelines for
diabetes processes of care, treatment, and achievement of outcomes such as
levels of glygated hemoglobin.
Overall, the quality of care in all practices showed room for improvement,
according to the researchers. But they found better care in practices without
EMRs. Practices without such systems were 2.25 times more likely to meet
process guidelines, 1.6 times more likely to meet treatment standards, and 2.6
times more likely to meet outcome targets.
The authors conclude that, "Simply having an EMR does not guarantee
higher quality care." Practices that wish to expand use of EMRs should
focus not just on adopting the technology, but also on developing methods to
integrate the technology into office operations, the researchers suggest.
Crosson JC, Ohman-Strickland PA, Hahn KA, et al.:
Electronic medical records and diabetes quality of care: Results from a sample
of family medicine practices. Ann Fam Med 5: 209-215, 2007.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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