Trends in Electronic Health Record Use Among Adult Day Services Centers, 2016-2022: A Cross-Sectional Panel Study

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Gerontology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly common in healthcare, but their adoption in adult day services centers (ADSCs) is understudied.
• This research addresses a gap in community-based long-term care technology by examining EHR trends in ADSCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate trends in EHR adoption and use within ADSCs between 2016 and 2022.
• To identify organizational characteristics associated with EHR adoption in ADSCs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study (NPALS) waves from 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.
• Employed survey-weighted logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with EHR use in ADSCs.

Main Results:

• EHR use in ADSCs rose from 23.9% in 2016 to 31.2% in 2022.
• Larger centers, medical model centers, chains, and Medicaid-licensed centers demonstrated significantly higher odds of EHR adoption.
• For-profit centers had lower odds of EHR adoption compared to non-profit centers.

Conclusions:

• Despite overall growth, a digital divide in EHR adoption persists among ADSCs.
• Social model, smaller, independent, non-Medicaid-licensed, and for-profit centers are less likely to adopt EHRs.
• Further research is needed on policies, funding, and decision-making to understand barriers and incentives for EHR implementation and its impact on care coordination.