A comprehensive analysis by HIMSS Analytics finds significant improvement in hospital performance and mortality rates among those with advanced EMR capabilities
HIMSS Analytics revealed the findings of a study thought to represent the most extensive analysis to date of the clinical effectiveness of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). With clinical data support from Healthgrades, a leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, the findings clearly demonstrate a measurable beneficial relationship between the adoption of EMRs and hospital performance, as measured by mortality rates.
The value of EMRs has long been discussed in trade and consumer news, but until now evaluations have lacked comprehensive clinical data.
“While the findings are what we would have expected, they’re definitely encouraging to those having invested so much in an EMR and now weathering criticisms,” said Lorren Pettit, HIMSS Analytics Vice President of Market Research. “Given the robustness of the data sets used to conduct this analysis, it’s my hope that we’ve set a standard by which other attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMR will be measured against.”
Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer for Healthgrades, praised the study’s importance to patients, saying, “These results are vital to the health of millions of Americans. When selecting hospitals, patients should know how beneficial EMR technology can be to their health outcomes.”
Using HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) and mortality rate measures collected by Healthgrades across 19 unique procedure and condition based clinical cohorts, the analysis found that hospitals with advanced EMR capabilities (as reflected in high EMRAM scores) demonstrated significantly improved actual mortality rates, most notably for heart attack, respiratory failure, and small intestine surgery. Most cohorts experienced improvement in predicted mortality rates when compared to hospitals with lower EMRAM scores. The predicted mortality rate is an indicator of the level of documentation and capture of patient risk factors that are correlated to increased risk of mortality.
In total, 4,583 facility records were selected from the HIMSS Analytics Database, representing the total number of facilities with complete data from 2010 through 2012.
This evaluation is represented as initial findings, and while it doesn’t point to a causal relationship it does indicate a difference in performance. HIMSS Analytics will continue to study the relationship and conduct further analysis.
The white paper describing the study, methodology and findings is available for download at http://www.himssanalytics.org/research/AssetDetail.aspx?pubid=82168&tid=121.
About HIMSS Analytics
HIMSS Analytics collects, analyzes and distributes essential health IT data related to products, costs, metrics, trends and purchase decisions. It delivers quality data and analytical expertise to healthcare delivery organizations, IT companies, governmental entities, financial, pharmaceutical and consulting companies. Visit www.himssanalytics.org.
HIMSS Analytics is a part of HIMSS, a cause-based global enterprise that produces health IT thought leadership, education, events, market research and media services around the world. Founded in 1961, HIMSS encompasses more than 52,000 individuals, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporations and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations, that share the cause of transforming health and healthcare through the best use of IT. HIMSS, headquartered in Chicago, serves the global health IT community with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
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