EHR adoption among ambulatory care teams

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Informatics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Advanced practice providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), are increasingly integrated into healthcare practices.
• Health information technology (IT), particularly electronic health records (EHRs), plays a crucial role in modern healthcare delivery.
• Understanding the relationship between APP employment and IT adoption is essential for optimizing practice efficiency and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the types of practices employing APPs (NPs and PAs).
• To examine the association between the employment of APPs and the adoption of health IT, specifically EHRs.
• To assess the relationship between APP employment and the utilization of advanced EHR functionalities.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2013 SK and A Information Services' Office-Based Provider Database.
• Employed Poisson regression models to estimate EHR adoption and functionalities.
• Included practice size, care setting, specialty, ownership, geographic region, and APP employment as independent variables.

Main Results:

• In 2013, three-fourths of practices employing at least one APP had adopted an EHR.
• Practices with APPs were 9% to 12% more likely to have adopted EHRs with advanced functionalities compared to practices without APPs.
• A significant association was found between APP employment and both EHR adoption and the use of advanced EHR functionalities.

Conclusions:

• APP employment is associated with higher rates of EHR adoption and the use of advanced EHR functionalities.
• Practices employing APPs demonstrate a readiness for team-based care models, which can be enhanced by health IT.
• Future research should explore how practices with APPs leverage health IT to improve health outcomes and care coordination.