While they are touted for their speed in accuracy in tracking patient care, electronic health records may have little to no impact on care quality, according to the results of a new study.
There was no overall difference in the quality of care given to patients by providers who used electronic health records versus those who did not, according to a study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Researchers examined records from 1.8 billion ambulatory visits nationwide. For 14 of the 17 quality indicators, there was no significant difference in performance between visits to providers with electronic recordkeeping and those without it.
Still, researchers noted that technology is a tool providers can use to demonstrate improvements in quality.
