Are electronic medical records helpful for care coordination? Experiences of physician practices.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Policies promoting widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) are premised on the hope that they can improve the coordination of care. Yet little is known about whether and how physician practices use current EMRs to facilitate coordination.

Objectives

We examine whether and how practices use commercial EMRs to support coordination tasks and identify work-around practices have created to address new coordination challenges.

Design, setting

Semi-structured telephone interviews in 12 randomly selected communities.

Participants

Sixty respondents, including 52 physicians or staff from 26 practices with commercial ambulatory care EMRs in place for at least 2 years, chief medical officers at four EMR vendors, and four national thought leaders

SUBMITTER: O'Malley AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2839331 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature