Abstract
BackgroundThe adoption of health information technology has been recommended as a viable mechanism for improving quality of care and patient health outcomes. However, the capacity of health information technology (i.e., availability and use of multiple and advanced functionalities), particularly in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) on improving quality of care is not well understood. We examined associations between health information technology (HIT) capacity at FQHCs and quality of care, measured by the receipt of discharge summary, frequency of patients receiving reminders/notifications for preventive care/follow-up care, and timely appointment for specialty care.MethodsThe analyses used 2009 data from the National Survey of Federally Qualified Health Centers. The study included 776 of the FQHCs that participated in the survey. We examined the extent of HIT use and tested the hypothesis that level of HIT capacity is associated with quality of care. Multivariable logistic regressions, reporting unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios, were used to examine whether ‘FQHCs’ HIT capacity’ is associated with the outcome measures.ResultsThe results showed a positive association between health information technology capacity and quality of care. FQHCs with higher HIT capacity were significantly more likely to have improved quality of care, measured by the receipt of discharge summaries (OR=1.43; CI=1.01, 2.40), the use of a patient notification system for preventive and follow-up care (OR=1.74; CI=1.23, 2.45), and timely appointment for specialty care (OR=1.77; CI=1.24, 2.53).ConclusionsOur findings highlight the promise of HIT in improving quality of care, particularly for vulnerable populations who seek care at FQHCs. The results also show that FQHCs may not be maximizing the benefits of HIT. Efforts to implement HIT must include strategies that facilitate the implementation of comprehensive and advanced functionalities, as well as promote meaningful use of these systems. Further examination of the role of health information systems in clinical decision-making and improvements in patient outcomes are needed to better understand the benefits of HIT in improving overall quality of care.
Highlights
The adoption of health information technology has been recommended as a viable mechanism for improving quality of care and patient health outcomes
Of all the FQHCS, only 43% use electronic medical records, approximately 50 percent of Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) are classified as having Low health information technology (HIT) capacity, with 32% classified as having high HIT capacity
Similar to previous studies that have examined the impact of health information technologies and functionalities on quality of health care, [11,12,14,29,30,31] we showed that HIT capacity at FQHCs is associated with improved quality of care
Summary
The adoption of health information technology has been recommended as a viable mechanism for improving quality of care and patient health outcomes. The capacity of health information technology (i.e., availability and use of multiple and advanced functionalities), in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) on improving quality of care is not well understood. Health information technology (HIT) is defined as “a variety of electronic methods used to manage information about people’s health and health care, on both the individual and group level” [3]. The goal of these federal policies is to promote the use of HIT-based information in a way that improves care delivery and health outcomes (i.e., meaningful use) [2,4]. HIT is expected to improve quality of care, reduce costs, and facilitate patient-centeredness by using technological advances to engage patients as active participants in the care delivery process [7,9]
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