Use of health information technology in home health and hospice agencies: United States, 2007.
OBJECTIVE
This report provides updated estimates on use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in US home health and hospice (HHH) agencies, describes utilization of EMR functionalities, and presents novel data on telemedicine and point of care documentation (PoCD) in this setting.


METHODS
Nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of US HHH agencies conducted in 2007.


METHODS
Data on agency characteristics, current use of EMR systems as well as use of telemedicine and PoCD were collected.


RESULTS
In 2007, 43% of US HHH agencies reported use of an EMR system. Patient demographics (40%) and clinical notes (34%) were the most commonly used EMR functions among US HHH agencies. Only 20% of agencies with EMR systems had health information sharing functionality and about half of them used it. Telemedicine was used by 21% of all HHH agencies, with most (87%) of these offering home health services. Among home health agencies using telemedicine, greater than 90% used telephone monitoring and about two-thirds used non-video monitoring. Nearly 29% of HHH agencies reported using electronic PoCD systems, most often for Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data capture (79%). Relative to for-profit HHH agencies, non-profit agencies used considerably more EMR (70% vs 28%, p<0.001) and PoCD (63% vs 9%, p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Between 2000 and 2007, there was a 33% increase in use of EMR among HHH agencies in the US. In 2007, use of EMR and PoCD technologies in non-profit agencies was significantly higher than for-profit ones. Finally, HHH agencies generally tended to use available EMR functionalities, including health information sharing.
Resnick
Helaine E
HE
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Washington, DC, USA. hresnick@aahsa.org
Alwan
Majd
M
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006699:Home Care Services; D006738:Hospices; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D017216:Telemedicine; D013686:Telemetry; D014481:United States