Using claims information collected from seven EDs in Rochester, N.Y., the researchers found that physicians and healthcare professionals who had access to patient data from other providers through the region's health information organization were better able to avoid hospitalizing patients who didn't need inpatient care.
The study illustrates the value of combining multiple providers' digital patient charts into a single source, particularly in urgent care settings. With information such as previous test results, prescriptions and other patient history immediately accessible, physicians are able to better treat patients, according to a
"Our study shows that providing physicians, nurses and allied healthcare professionals such as physicians assistants real-time access to communitywide, longitudinal health records does in fact benefit patients," said Joshua Vest, MD, an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and lead author of the study, in a news release.
"The possibility for healthcare information exchange efforts to improve the quality of healthcare for New Yorkers and across the country is substantial," said
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