Cardiovascular disease documentation and counseling in electronic medical records

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between clinical reminders generated by electronic medical record (EMR) systems and providers giving prevention counseling to patients at-risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Data were extracted from the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Results indicate that the providers routinely using clinical reminders are significantly more likely to document height and weight data to determine risk and provide the recommended counseling to patients that merit the intervention. The findings are important for policymakers and managers that have been promoting the adoption of more sophisticated EMR decision support functionalities across the care delivery spectrum. In particular, the ability to intervene prior to negative health events is an important feature of the movement to improve care quality and reduce costs.