Primary care physician eHealth profile and care coordination: a cross-sectional study.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Healthcare Policy
• Primary Care

Background:

• Digital health offers potential for improved care coordination and patient self-management.
• Adoption of digital health tools is hindered by various barriers, particularly at the healthcare professional level.
• Understanding the eHealth profile of primary care physicians is crucial for effective implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the eHealth profile of primary care physicians in Switzerland.
• To investigate the relationship between physicians' digital health use and their care coordination practices.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 1114 physicians in Switzerland.
• Utilized data from "The Commonwealth Fund's 2022 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians in 10 Countries".
• Developed digital health and care coordination scores based on questionnaire responses; analyzed associations using regression.

Main Results:

• High usage of electronic patient records (83%), but limited use of teleconsultations (<5%) and connected health tools for chronic disease monitoring (63%).
• Positive associations found between higher eHealth scores and factors like weekly working hours, specialist practice, and group practice settings.
• A higher eHealth profile score was significantly correlated with a higher care coordination score.

Conclusions:

• A positive association exists between digital health adoption and care coordination among primary care physicians.
• Digital health tools may enhance collaborative and interprofessional care, underscoring their potential benefits.