title: Physician Perceptions and Beliefs about Generating and Providing a Clinical Summary of the Office Visit.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A core measure of the meaningful use of EHR incentive program is the generation and provision of the clinical summary of the office visit, or the after visit summary (AVS), to patients. However, little research has been conducted on physician perceptions and beliefs about the AVS.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate physician perceptions and beliefs about the AVS and the effect of the AVS on workload, patient outcomes, and the care the physician delivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional online survey of physicians at two academic medical centers (AMCs) in the northeast who are participating in the meaningful use EHR incentive program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1 795 physicians at both AMCs participating in the incentive program, 853 completed the survey for a response rate of 47.5%. Eighty percent of the respondents reported that the AVS was easy (very easy or quite easy or somewhat easy) to generate and provide to patients. Nonetheless, more than three-fourths of the respondents reported a negative effect of generating and providing the AVS on workload of office staff (78%) and workload of physicians (76%). Primary care physicians had more positive beliefs about the effect of the AVS on patient outcomes than specialists (p<0.001) and also had more positive beliefs about the effect of the AVS on the care they delivered than specialists (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Achieving the core meaningful use measure of generating and providing the AVS was easy for physicians but it did not necessarily translate into positive beliefs about the effect of the AVS on patient outcomes or the care the physician delivered. Physicians also had negative beliefs about the effect of the AVS on workload. To promote positive beliefs among physicians around the AVS, organizations should obtain physician input into the design and implementation of the AVS and develop strategies to mitigate its negative impacts on workload.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Emani
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston,MA, United States.
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, United States ; Brigham and Women's Physician Organization, Brigham and Women's Hospital , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Healey
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lipsitz
authors.affiliation: Information Services, Partners HealthCare , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ramelson
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Suric
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA, United States ; Department of Healthcare Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health , Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bates
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062527:Meaningful Use; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits; D005791:Patient Care; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D016526:Workload
keywords: Electronic health records; after visit summary; beliefs; evaluation; meaningful use; physicians