Mary Reed, DrPH; Jie Huang, PhD; Ilana Graetz, BA; Richard Brand, PhD; John Hsu, MD, MBA, MSCE; Bruce Fireman, MA; Marc Jaffe, MD
Disclaimer: Dr. Reed had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Grant Support: By the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK R01DK085070).
Potential Conflicts of Interest: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M11-2670.
Reproducible Research Statement: Study protocol and statistical code: Available from Dr. Reed (e-mail, mary.e.reed@kp.org). Data set: Not available.
Requests for Single Reprints: Mary Reed, DrPH, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612; e-mail, mary.e.reed@kp.org.
Current Author Addresses: Drs. Reed and Huang and Ms. Graetz: Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.
Dr. Brand: University of California, San Francisco, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, 185 Berry Street, Suite 5700, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Dr. Hsu: Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 50 Staniford Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.
Mr. Fireman: Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.
Dr. Jaffe: Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Kaiser South San Francisco Medical Center, 1200 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
Author Contributions: Conception and design: M. Reed, J. Huang, R. Brand, J. Hsu, B. Fireman, M. Jaffe.
Analysis and interpretation of the data: M. Reed, J. Huang, I. Graetz, R. Brand, J. Hsu, B. Fireman, M. Jaffe.
Drafting of the article: M. Reed, R. Brand, J. Hsu, M. Jaffe.
Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: M. Reed, J. Huang, I. Graetz, R. Brand, J. Hsu, B. Fireman, M. Jaffe.
Final approval of the article: M. Reed, J. Huang, I. Graetz, R. Brand, J. Hsu, B. Fireman, M. Jaffe.
Statistical expertise: M. Reed, J. Huang, R. Brand, B. Fireman.
Obtaining of funding: M. Reed, R. Brand, J. Hsu.
Administrative, technical, or logistic support: I. Graetz, R. Brand.
Collection and assembly of data: M. Reed, J. Huang.
Physicians can receive federal payments for meaningful use of complete certified electronic health records (EHRs). Evidence is limited on how EHR use affects clinical care and outcomes.
To examine the association between use of a commercially available certified EHR and clinical care processes and disease control in patients with diabetes.
Quasi-experimental design with outpatient EHR implementation sequentially across 17 medical centers. Multivariate analyses adjusted for patient characteristics, medical center, time trends, and facility-level clustering.
Kaiser Permanente Northern California, an integrated delivery system.
169 711 patients with diabetes mellitus.
Use of a commercially available certified EHR.
Drug treatment intensification and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) testing and values.
Use of an EHR was associated with statistically significant improvements in treatment intensification after HbA1c values of 9% or greater (odds ratio, 1.10 [95% CI, 1.05 to 1.15]) or LDL-C values of 2.6 to 3.3 mmol/L (100 to 129 mg/dL) (odds ratio, 1.06 [CI, 1.00 to 1.12]); increases in 1-year retesting for HbA1c and LDL-C levels among all patients, with the most dramatic change among patients with the worst disease control (HbA1c levels ≥9% or LDL-C levels ≥3.4 mmol/L [≥130 mg/dL]); and decreased 90-day retesting among patients with HbA1c levels less than 7% or LDL-C levels less than 2.6 mmol/L (<100 mg/dL). The EHR was also associated with statistically significant reductions in HbA1c and LDL-C levels, with the largest reductions among patients with the worst control (0.06-mmol/L [2.19-mg/dL] reduction among patients with baseline LDL-C levels ≥3.4 mmol/L [≥130 mg/dL]; P < 0.001).
The EHR was implemented in a setting with strong baseline performance on cardiovascular care quality measures.
Use of a commercially available certified EHR was associated with improved drug treatment intensification, monitoring, and physiologic control among patients with diabetes, with greater improvements among patients with worse control and less testing in patients already meeting guideline-recommended glycemic and lipid targets.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Reed M, Huang J, Graetz I, Brand R, Hsu J, Fireman B, et al. Outpatient Electronic Health Records and the Clinical Care and Outcomes of Patients With Diabetes Mellitus. Ann Intern Med. 2012;157:482–489. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-7-201210020-00004
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© 2018
Published: Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(7):482-489.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-7-201210020-00004
Cardiology, Coronary Risk Factors, Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Endocrine and Metabolism.