A study in Journal of Medical Internet Research: Medical Informatics investigated whether using an EMR in a mental health facility would lead to quality improvement outcomes.
A tertiary-level mental health facility in Ontario, Canada, implemented an EMR, which included workflow and documentation tools for point-of-care staff. Over two years, the number of restraint incidents decreased 19.7 percent, representing cost savings of more than $1 million. The EMR's infection prevention and control surveillance tools also helped to bring the number of outbreak days down from 47 days the year before EMR implementation to seven days the year following EMR implementation.
The researchers concluded that EMR implementation allowed the facility to "use data analytics to identify and select appropriate quality improvement initiatives, supporting patient-centered, recovery-oriented practices and providing value at the clinical, organizational and societal levels."