EHRs may not significantly improve the quality of clinical care or health outcomes, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In a study of more than 1,200 hospitals, researchers found EHRs had no effect on the quality of care, patient discharge and in-hospital mortality of ischemic stroke patients.
Researchers analyzed outcomes for ischemic stroke patients from 511 hospitals with EHRs and compared the results to the outcomes of patients treated at hospitals without EHRs. Though no differences in quality were found, hospitals with EHRs were slightly less likely to keep patients for prolonged stays, according to the report.
The authors noted that the hospitals studied had implemented quality improvement programs, which may have minimized the effect of EHRs on quality outcomes.
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