Factors associated with improved completion of computerized clinical reminders across a large healthcare system

To analyze the relationship of completion rates for a standardized set of computerized clinical reminders across a large healthcare system to practice and provider characteristics.

The relationship between completion rate for 13 standardized reminders at 49 primary care practices in the VA New England Healthcare System for a 30-day period and practice characteristics, provider demographics and, via survey, provider attitudes was analyzed.

There was no difference in clinical reminder completion rate between staff physicians versus nurse practitioners/physician assistants (87.6% versus 88.1%) but both were better than residents (76.6%, p<0.0001). With residents excluded, there were no differences between hospital and community-based clinics or between teaching and non-teaching sites. Clinical reminder completion rate was lower for sites that did not fully utilize support staff in completion process versus sites that did (82.4% versus 88.1%, p<0.0001). Analysis of survey results showed no correlation of completion rate with provider demographics or attitudes towards reminders. However there was significant correlation with frequency of receiving individual feedback on reminder completion (r=0.288, p=0.004).

Completion of computerized clinical reminders was not affected by a variety of provider characteristics, including professional training, demographics and provider attitude, although was lower among residents than staff providers. However incorporation of support staff into clinic processes and individualized feedback to providers were strongly associated with improved completion. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering practice and provider factors and not just technical elements when implementing informatics tools.