Study: Cancer screening order rates unaffected by EHR adoption

Despite hopes and fears about health IT, EHRs and e-reminders did not ameliorate or exacerbate racial differences in cancer screening order rates, according to a study by Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Among an estimated 2.4 billion U.S. adult primary care visits between 2006 and 2011, orders for screening for breast, cervical or colon cancer did not differ between clinics with and without EHRs or e-reminders, the researchers found.

Also:

• There was no difference in screening orders between non-white and white patients for breast or cervical cancer
• For colon cancer, non-whites were more likely than whites to receive screening orders
• EHRs or e-reminders did not modify racial differences in cancer screening rates

Access the study here.