Care coordination and electronic health records: connecting clinicians.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between use of electronic health records (EHR) and care coordination.


METHODS
Two surveys, in 2005 and again in 2006, of primary care clinicians working in a prepaid integrated delivery system during the staggered implementation of an EHR system. Using multivariate logistic regression to adjust for clinician characteristics, we examined the association between EHR use and clinicians' perceptions of three dimensions of care coordination: timely access to complete information; treatment goal agreement; and role/responsibility agreement.


RESULTS
Compared to clinicians without EHR, clinicians with 6+ months of EHR use more frequently reported timely access to complete information, and being in agreement on treatment goals with other involved clinicians. There was no significant association between EHR use and being in agreement on roles and responsibilities with other clinicians.


CONCLUSIONS
EHR use is associated with aspects of care coordination involving information transfer and communication of treatment goals.
Graetz
Ilana
I
Center for Health Policy Studies, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California, USA.
Reed
Mary
M
Rundall
Thomas
T
Bellows
Jim
J
Brand
Richard
R
Hsu
John
J
D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D016015:Logistic Models; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013997:Time Factors