Variation in Electronic Health Record Documentation of Social Determinants of Health Across a National Network of Community Health Centers.

INTRODUCTION: This paper describes the adoption of an electronic health record-based social determinants of health screening tool in a national network of more than 100 community health centers. METHODS: In 2016, a screening tool with questions on 7 social determinants of health domains was developed and deployed in the electronic health record, with technical instructions on how to use the tool and suggested clinical workflows. To understand adoption patterns, the study team extracted electronic health record data for any patient with a community health center visit between June 2016 and May 2018. Patients were considered "screened" if a response to at least 1 social determinants of health domain was documented in the electronic health record tool. RESULTS: A total of 31,549 patients (2% of those with a visit in the study period) had a documented social determinants of health screening. The number of screenings increased over time, time; 71 community health centers (67%) conducted at least one screening, but almost 50% took place in only 4 community health centers. Over half (55%) of screenings only included responses for only 1 domain. Screening was most likely to occur during an office visit with an established patient and documented in the electronic health record by a medical assistant. CONCLUSIONS: Screening documentation patterns varied widely across the network of community health centers. Despite the growing national emphasis on the importance of screening for social determinants of health, these findings suggest that simply activating electronic health record tools for social determinants of health screening does not lead to widespread adoption. Potential barriers to screening adoption and implementation should be explored further. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled Identifying and Intervening on Social Needs in Clinical Settings: Evidence and Evidence Gaps, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Role of Race/Ethnicity, Language, and Insurance in Use of Cervical Cancer Prevention Services Among Low-Income Hispanic Women, 2009-2013.

INTRODUCTION: Hispanic women in the United States have an elevated risk of cervical cancer, but the existing literature does not reveal why this disparity persists. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 17,828 low-income women aged 21 to 64 years seeking care at Oregon community health centers served by a hosted, linked electronic health record during 2009 through 2013. We assessed the odds of having had Papanicolaou (Pap) tests and receiving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, by race/ethnicity, insurance status, and language. RESULTS: Hispanic women, regardless of pregnancy status or insurance, had greater odds of having had Pap tests than non-Hispanic white women during the study period. English-preferring Hispanic women had higher odds of having had Pap tests than Spanish-preferring Hispanic women (OR, 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-2.66) but lower odds of having received HPV vaccination (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.12-0.38). Uninsured patients, regardless of race/ethnicity, had lower odds of HPV vaccine initiation than insured patients did. Once a single dose was received, there were no significant racial/ethnic differences in vaccine series completion. CONCLUSION: In this sample of low-income women seeking care at Oregon community health centers, we found minimal racial/ethnic disparities in the receipt of cervical cancer prevention services. Inequities by insurance status, especially in the receipt of HPV vaccine, persist. Community health center-based care may be a useful model to address racial/ethnic disparities in prevention, but this model would need further population-wide study.

Lack of Lipid Screening Disparities in Obese Latino Adults at Health Centers.

INTRODUCTION: In cross-sectional survey studies, obese Latinos are less likely to be screened for elevated serum cholesterol, despite their higher risk for hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease. This study evaluated insurance and racial/ethnic disparities in lipid screening receipt between obese Latino and non-Hispanic white patients in Oregon community health centers (CHCs) over 5 years, using electronic health record data. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated obese (BMI ≥30), low-income, adult patients (aged 21-79 years) with at least one visit at an Oregon CHC during 2009-2013 (n=11,095). Odds of lipid screening in the study period (clinical data collected in 2009-2013) were measured, adjusting for age, sex, primary clinic, and comorbidities, stratified by utilization in the study period. Analysis was done in 2016. RESULTS: Sixty percent of the study population received at least one lipid screening in 2009-2013. There were no significant differences in screening between insured Latinos and insured non-Hispanic whites, except those with more than five visits over 5 years (OR=0.75, 95% CI=0.60, 0.94). Uninsured Latinos had higher odds of screening versus insured non-Hispanic whites among the low visit strata (OR=1.65, 95% CI=1.18, 2.30). Among Latinos, Spanish preference resulted in higher screening odds versus English preference in the two- to five-visit stratum (OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.12, 2.35). CONCLUSIONS: Obese, low-income patients at CHCs underutilize cholesterol screening. However, screening differences by race/ethnicity and preferred language are minimal. Further research is necessary to understand how care delivered by CHCs may mitigate previously reported disparities in lipid screening.

Measuring Preventive Care Delivery: Comparing Rates Across Three Data Sources.

INTRODUCTION: Preventive care delivery is an important quality outcome, and electronic data reports are being used increasingly to track these services. It is highly informative when electronic data sources are compared to information manually extracted from medical charts to assess validity and completeness. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a random sample of Medicaid-insured patients seen at 43 community health centers in 2011 to calculate standard measures of correspondence between manual chart review and two automated sources (electronic health records [EHRs] and Medicaid claims), comparing documentation of orders for and receipt of ten preventive services (n=150 patients/service). Data were analyzed in 2015. RESULTS: Using manual chart review as the gold standard, automated EHR extraction showed near-perfect to perfect agreement (κ=0.96-1.0) for services received within the primary care setting (e.g., BMI, blood pressure). Receipt of breast and colorectal cancer screenings, services commonly referred out, showed moderate (κ=0.42) to substantial (κ=0.62) agreement, respectively. Automated EHR extraction showed near-perfect agreement (κ=0.83-0.97) for documentation of ordered services. Medicaid claims showed near-perfect agreement (κ=0.87) for hyperlipidemia and diabetes screening, and substantial agreement (κ=0.67-0.80) for receipt of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings, and influenza vaccination. Claims showed moderate agreement (κ=0.59) for chlamydia screening receipt. Medicaid claims did not capture ordered or unbilled services. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that automated EHR and claims data provide valid sources for measuring receipt of most preventive services; however, ordered and unbilled services were primarily captured via EHR data and completed referrals were more often documented in claims data.

Using electronic health record data to evaluate preventive service utilization among uninsured safety net patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the preventive service utilization of uninsured patients receiving care at Oregon community health centers (CHCs) in 2008 through 2011 with that of continuously insured patients at the same CHCs in the same period, using electronic health record (EHR) data. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis, using logistic mixed effects regression modeling to calculate odds ratios and rates of preventive service utilization for patients without insurance, or with continuous insurance. RESULTS: CHCs provided many preventive services to uninsured patients. Uninsured patients were less likely than continuously insured patients to receive 5 of 11 preventive services, ranging from OR 0.52 (95% CI: 0.35-0.77) for mammogram orders to 0.75 (95% CI: 0.66-0.86) for lipid panels. This disparity persisted even in patients who visited the clinic regularly. CONCLUSION: Lack of insurance is a barrier to preventive service utilization, even in patients who can access care at a CHC. Policymakers in the United States should continue to address this significant prevention disparity.

Insurance continuity and human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in Oregon and California federally qualified health centers.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between insurance continuity and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake in a network of federally qualified health clinics (FQHCs). METHODS: We analyzed retrospective electronic health record data for females, aged 9-26 years in 2008 through 2010. Based on electronic health record insurance coverage information, patients were categorized by percent of time insured during the study period (0%, 1%-32%, 33%-65%, 66%-99%, or 100%). We used bilevel multivariable Poisson regression to compare vaccine-initiation prevalence between insurance groups, stratified by race/ethnicity and age. We also examined vaccine series completion among initiators who had at least 12 months to complete all 3 doses. RESULTS: Significant interactions were observed between insurance category, age, and race/ethnicity. Juxtaposed with their continuously insured peers, patients were less likely to initiate the HPV vaccine if they were insured for less than 66% of the study period, aged 13 years or older, and identified as a racial/ethnic minority. Insurance coverage was not associated with vaccine series completion. CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in vaccine uptake by insurance status were present in the FQHCs studied here, despite the fact that HPV vaccines are available to many patients regardless of ability to pay.

Agreement of Medicaid claims and electronic health records for assessing preventive care quality among adults.

To compare the agreement of electronic health record (EHR) data versus Medicaid claims data in documenting adult preventive care. Insurance claims are commonly used to measure care quality. EHR data could serve this purpose, but little information exists about how this source compares in service documentation. For 13 101 Medicaid-insured adult patients attending 43 Oregon community health centers, we compared documentation of 11 preventive services, based on EHR versus Medicaid claims data. Documentation was comparable for most services. Agreement was highest for influenza vaccination (κ = 0.77; 95% CI 0.75 to 0.79), cholesterol screening (κ = 0.80; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.81), and cervical cancer screening (κ = 0.71; 95% CI 0.70 to 0.73), and lowest on services commonly referred out of primary care clinics and those that usually do not generate claims. EHRs show promise for use in quality reporting. Strategies to maximize data capture in EHRs are needed to optimize the use of EHR data for service documentation.

The association between insurance status and cervical cancer screening in community health centers: exploring the potential of electronic health records for population-level surveillance, 2008-2010.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States have decreased 67% over the past 3 decades, a reduction mainly attributed to widespread use of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test for cervical cancer screening. In the general population, receipt of cervical cancer screening is positively associated with having health insurance. Less is known about the role insurance plays among women seeking care in community health centers, where screening services are available regardless of insurance status. The objective of our study was to assess the association between cervical cancer screening and insurance status in Oregon and California community health centers by using data from electronic health records. METHODS: We used bilevel log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for receipt of a Pap test by insurance status, adjusted for patient-level demographic factors and a clinic-level random effect. RESULTS: Insurance status was a significant predictor of cervical cancer screening, but the effect varied by race/ethnicity and age. In our study uninsured non-Hispanic white women were less likely to receive a Pap test than were uninsured women of other races. Young, uninsured Hispanic women were more likely to receive a Pap test than were young, fully insured Hispanic women, a finding not previously reported. CONCLUSION: Electronic health records enable population-level surveillance in community health centers and can reveal factors influencing use of preventive services. Although community health centers provide cervical cancer screening regardless of insurance status, disparities persist in the association between insurance status and receipt of Pap tests. In our study, after adjusting for demographic factors, being continuously insured throughout the study period improved the likelihood of receiving a Pap test for many women.