Do "most wired" hospitals deliver better care?

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Health Information Technology
• Quality of Care

Background:

• A 2006 study compared objective quality of care measures between "Most Wired" hospitals and non-"Most Wired" hospitals.
• The "Most Wired" designation identifies hospitals recognized for their advanced use of health information technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate differences in objective quality of care measures between "Most Wired" hospitals and a comparison group.
• To determine if the "Most Wired" designation is an independent predictor of quality care.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital Compare initiative.
• Calculated ten quality indicators for cardiac and pulmonary care in adult hospitals.
• Employed t-tests, multivariable linear regression, and generalized estimating equations to compare hospital performance.

Main Results:

• "Most Wired" hospitals tended to be larger, not-for-profit, and teaching institutions.
• "Most Wired" hospitals outperformed comparison hospitals on all but one quality indicator (p < .05).
• After adjustments, the "Most Wired" designation was independently associated with better quality scores for only 2 of the 10 indicators.

Conclusions:

• "Most Wired" hospitals generally showed better objective quality of care than comparison hospitals.
• The association between "Most Wired" status and quality was attenuated by other factors, suggesting it may be a marker of overall quality.
• Further research is necessary to understand the direct impact of health information technology implementation on quality of care measures.