Survey tracks electronic health records usage
December 1, 1999 2 minutes read
Survey tracks electronic health records usage
Between May and August 1999, the Medical Records Institute (MRI) conducted its first survey of electronic health record (EHR) trends and usage. Survey respondents were comprised of 477 attendees at the 15th annual TEPR (Toward an Electronic Patient Record) conference hosted by MRI, and included clinicians and health care administrators from the United States and 37 other countries.
In response to "What are the major management/administrative factors that are driving the need for EHR systems?" 72% of respondents cited "the need to share comparable patient data among different sites within a multi-entity health care delivery system." Similarly, "The need to improve the ability to share patient record information among health care providers" was cited by 73% of respondents when asked about major clinical factors behind the need for EHR systems.
Some 38% of respondents reported having an installed EHR system whose functions/components included "a network connecting the data repository to clinical work stations and departmental systems," while 33% reported having "a clinical data repository that can support data, text, and reimbursement (ICD and CPT) codes" and a "master person index or enterprise directory." Twenty-seven percent reported having clinical workstations with the ability to support order entry, while 26% said they had "a data warehouse or secondary database of patient information to support retrospective analysis of outcomes, utilization, and clinical processes."
A sizable proportion of survey respondents has big plans on tap for their EHR systems. Within the next two years, 33% plan to implement a clinical repository that can store clinical images, while 31% plan to put a data warehouse in place for retrospective analyses. Meanwhile, 30% report planning a medical records document imaging system; and, 29% have plans on tap for "clinical workstations with the ability to support order entry, results reporting, and decision support."
Complete results of the MRI survey are available by clicking on "Survey Results" on the organization’s Web site, located at http://www.medrecinst.com.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content