December 2015

We assessed physician attitudes on ease of use of electronic health record (EHR) functionalities related to “Meaningful Use” and whether ease of use was associated with EHR characteristics.

We used aggregated pharmacy claims data available within the electronic health record to identify a high rate of primary nonadherence in a nonintegrated primary care network.

Select organizational characteristics and geographic locations were independently associated with the use of any electronic health record system among residential care communities.

This study examined the adoption of health information technology-electronic health records, health information exchange, and patient engagement-by California state community health centers.

This paper demonstrates that data-driven clinical pathways can be developed using electronic health record data to facilitate innovations in practice-based care delivery for chronic disease management.

Patients with higher out-of-pocket visit costs, such as co-payments and deductibles, initiated provider contact by e-mail more often. Patients report that e-mailing changed their care-seeking behaviors and improved overall health.

E-consult implementation grew from 12 to 122 VHA sites with multiple specialties. The adjusted e-consult rate of 1.93/100 consults saved significant patient travel miles and costs.

An automated cancer screening outreach tool implemented in a mature health information technology environment can achieve cost savings through reduced clinician time devoted to screening efforts.

Electronic health record data can be used to predict patient absenteeism accurately. Predictive overbooking of missed appointments can significantly increase service utilization.

Patients with diabetes that are cared for by primary care teams with higher cohesion experienced greater EHR-related outcome improvements, compared with patients cared for by lower cohesion teams.

Some patients using a patient portal for eVisits seek mental health care even when it is not designated for such use.

Recent policy changes and technological innovation have led to the widespread adoption of electronic health record systems and other forms of health information technology, which are starting to play an increasingly important role in the US healthcare system to improve quality while reducing costs.

This paper identified 4 factors associated with implementation success of e-consults in 8 VA medical centers, with implications for implementing similar health IT initiatives elsewhere.

Health IT—enabled information sharing promotes communication within care teams. This study examined health IT adoption rates among practices that employ nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The ultimate goal of the research that will be published in the pages of AJMC and elsewhere over the next decade is to provide those on the ground involved in health reform implementation and health systems redesign with critical, timely evidence in order to make mid-term corrections in the redesign of the US health system going forward.