Opposite findings

The results of two clinical studies on EHRs offered interesting and opposite findings.

While a study found that alerts in EHR systems that prompt providers to begin or continue the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination with pediatric patients lead to an increased rate of protection against cervical cancer, another study found that ischemic stroke patients at hospitals with EHR systems did not have better illness progression or care quality than similar patients at hospitals without EHRs.

The stroke study found no difference in patients' quality of care and illness progression between hospitals with EHRs and those without EHRs, including after adjusting the data for certain patient characteristics. However, patients who received care at hospitals with EHRs were slightly less likely to have prolonged hospital stays of more than four days. 

In an accompanying editorial, John Windle, chief of cardiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, wrote that the study "is a wake-up call that we should heed." EHR systems' top priority "must be support of clinical care, not documentation for billing and reimbursement."

Here’s hoping for more clinical studies that show the value of EHRs and health IT rather than provide more ammunition against digitization.

Beth Walsh

Clinical Innovation + Technology editor