The long-term financial impact of electronic health record implementation.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the financial impact of electronic health record (EHR) implementation on ambulatory practices.

Methods

We tracked the practice productivity (ie, number of patient visits) and reimbursement of 30 ambulatory practices for 2 years after EHR implementation and compared each practice to their pre-EHR implementation baseline.

Results

Reimbursements significantly increased after EHR implementation even though practice productivity (ie, the number of patient visits) decreased over the 2-year observation period. We saw no evidence of upcoding or increased reimbursement rates to explain the increased revenues. Instead, they were associated with an increase in ancillary office procedures (eg, drawing blood, immunizations, wound care, ultrasounds).

Discuss

SUBMITTER: Howley MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11749187 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature