Health information systems may not significantly affect the exchange of patient information between providers, according to a study in Medical Care.
Researchers analyzed data from approximately 4,500 office-based physicians on a 2012 survey regarding EHR use and electronic information sharing.
One-third of physicians indicated having and EHR system and sharing health information electronically, while 39 percent had an EHR system but did not share health information electronically.
The study indicated that physicians using IT systems were only marginally more likely to receive necessary information regarding patients referred from other practices than physicians not using IT systems, at 48 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
What's more, approximately 75 percent of physicians who did receive the needed information from other practices received it by fax or other non-electronic means.
"Being able to exchange data electronically does not automatically associate with better care coordination if the information needed is not exchanged between providers," the authors wrote. "These results suggest the EHR adoption and the capability for electronic sharing of patient health information among office-based physicians alone may not be enough to ensure the regular sharing of key information for care coordination."
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