January 19, 2018
Electronic Data Sharing and Patient Outcomes
A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study evaluates the association between hospitals sharing of electronic health records (EHR) diagnosis information and hospital quality using Hospital Compare scores. The paper has been published online in the American Journal of Managed Care.
“Our results suggest that hospitals that share diagnostic data through EHRs with other providers in their system are associated with better patient outcomes,” said lead study author Darwyyn Deyo, Department of Economics professor at San Jose State University. “In contrast, electronic sharing of diagnostic data with hospitals outside their system was associated with higher patient mortality scores.”
The researchers linked two years of CMS Hospital Compare data on 30-day patient mortality and readmission for heart failure and pneumonia with two years of American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Information Technology Survey data to estimate the association between sharing hospital EHR data with other hospitals and physicians and patient outcomes.
“The lack of common standards for EHR systems across hospitals and other providers can increase the risk of communication errors that may negatively impact patients”, stated Danny R. Hughes, PhD, Neiman Institute senior director for health policy research and senior research fellow. “Hospitals that solve the communication challenges associated with EHR data may be able to significantly reduce patient readmissions and mortality.”
The authors recommend that one approach for improving patient outcomes would be to develop common standards when using different EHR systems to ensure that providers can share diagnostic information in ways that are easy for other providers to access and accurately interpret.
To obtain a copy of the study or to arrange an interview with a Neiman Institute spokesperson, contact Nichole Gay at (703) 648-1665 or ngay@neimanhpi.org.
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About the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute
The Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute is one of the nation’s leading medical imaging socioeconomic research organizations. The Neiman Institute studies the role and value of radiology and radiologists in evolving health care delivery and payment systems and the impact of medical imaging on the cost, quality, safety and efficiency of health care. Visit us at www.neimanhpi.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.