The impact of electronic health records on workflow and financial measures in primary care practices.

Fleming NS1, Becker ER, Culler SD, Cheng D, McCorkle R, da Graca B, Ballard DJ.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate a commercially available ambulatory electronic health record's (EHR's) impact on workflow and financial measures.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING:

Administrative, payroll, and billing data were collected for 26 primary care practices in a fee-for-service network that rolled out an EHR on a staggered schedule from June 2006 through December 2008.

STUDY DESIGN:

An interrupted time series design was used. Staffing, visit intensity, productivity, volume, practice expense, payments received, and net income data were collected monthly for 2004-2009. Changes were evaluated 1-6, 7-12, and >12 months postimplementation.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS:

Data were accessed through a SQLserver database, transformed into SAS®, and aggregated by practice. Practice-level data were divided by full-time physician equivalents for comparisons across practices by month.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:

Staffing and practice expenses increased following EHR implementation (3 and 6 percent after 12 months). Productivity, volume, and net income decreased initially but recovered to/close to preimplementation levels after 12 months. Visit intensity did not change significantly, and a secular trend offset the decrease in payments received.

CONCLUSIONS:

Expenses increased and productivity decreased following EHR implementation, but not as much or as persistently as might be expected. Longer term effects still need to be examined.