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Oakland, CA - The use of an outpatient electronic health record (EHR) system, launched at 17 medical centers from 2004 to 2009, led to tighter control of diabetes and dyslipidemia, particularly among those with less well-controlled glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and lipid levels, and improved healthcare utilization in a study that included nearly 170 000 patients with diabetes [1].
"[We] found that EHR use was associated with improved rates of medication treatment intensification, follow-up monitoring, and glycemic and lipid control in patients with diabetes," the authors, led by Dr Mary Reed (Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland), write in the October 2, 2012 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
This is the first study of a large outpatient diabetes population to assess the effect of a complete and certified EHR system. The federal government has established financial incentives, totaling $29 billion, to encourage EHR uptake and "meaningful use," yet little longitudinal data are available on the clinical value of EHRs, according to the authors.
Researchers identified 169 711 patients in the Kaiser Permanente diabetes registry at the end of 2003. Kaiser rolled out a commercially available EHR system, EpicCare (Epic Systems, Verona, WI), between 2004 and 2009. Overall, 129 433 patients had 972 115 HbA1c tests, and another 151 838 had 1 095 991 LDL-cholesterol assays.
The EHR system was associated with treatment intensification among patients with elevated HbA1c levels. Participants with levels >9% experienced an increase in treatment intensification associated with EHR use (odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% CI 1.05-1.15), as did those with values of 7% to 8.9% (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.06-1.18). Both findings were statistically significant (p<0.001) in a multivariate analysis, adjusted for calendar month and year, medical center, and patient characteristics. In contrast, researchers saw no change among patients with HbA1c <7% (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.94-1.02; p=0.29).
EHR implementation was also associated with significant treatment intensification in patients with LDL-cholesterol values between 100 and 129 mg/dL (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.12; p=0.036). However, there was no significant change associated with EHR implementation among patients with LDL cholesterol >130 mg/dL (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.91-1.04; p=0.46). There was a significantly reduced likelihood of treatment intensification in patients with LDL cholesterol <100 mg/dL (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82-0.94; p<0.001).
Three additional clinical benefits were associated with EHR implementation in multivariate analyses. A significantly increased likelihood of patients having a follow-up test within one year was observed for all patients (p<0.05). At the same time, patients with an index test indicating good control were less likely to undergo retesting within 90 days (p<0.005), potentially signaling more appropriate use of resources. In contrast, for patients with elevated HbA1c or LDL-cholesterol levels, EHRs were associated with a faster rate of retesting overall (p<0.001), compared with a period before EHR adoption.
"Overall, our study suggests that the EHR may be a powerful tool to help clinicians deliver well-targeted, high-quality chronic disease care and improve patient outcomes," the authors write.
Adapted fromMedscape Medical News—a professional news service of WebMD
Source Reed M, Huang J, Graetz I, et al. Outpatient electronic health records and the clinical care and outcomes of patients with diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med 2012. Available at:
http://annals.org/journal.aspx. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) funded the study. Reed had no other disclosures. Disclosures for the coauthors are listed here.
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Dimitra Kontochristou