The good, the bad and the early adopters: providers' attitudes about a common, commercial EHR.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe primary care providers' (PCP) attitudes about the impact of a mature, commercial electronic health records (EHR) on clinical practice in settings with experience using the system and to evaluate whether a provider's propensity to adopt new technologies is associated with more favourable perceptions. METHOD: We surveyed PCPs in 11 practices affiliated with three health systems in Texas. Most practices had greater than 5 years of experience with the Epic EHR. The effect of early adopter of technology status was evaluated using logistic regression. RESULTS: One hundred forty-six PCPs responded (70%). Most thought the EHR had a positive impact on routine tasks, such as prescription refills (94%), whereas fewer agreed for complex tasks, such as delivery of guideline-concordant care for chronic illnesses (51%). Two-thirds (62%) thought it interfered with eye contact with patients, and 40% reported that it interfered with in-visit communication. Early adopters of technology reported greater positive effects of the EHR, even after adjusting for age, ranging from 2% to 15% higher on satisfaction ratings. CONCLUSION: PCPs practicing in settings with considerable experience using a common commercial EHR identified many positive effects, as well as two key areas for improvement - patient centredness and intelligent decision support. Providers with a propensity to adopt new technologies have more favourable perceptions of the EHR.

Use and satisfaction with key functions of a common commercial electronic health record: a survey of primary care providers.

BACKGROUND: Despite considerable financial incentives for adoption, there is little evidence available about providers' use and satisfaction with key functions of electronic health records (EHRs) that meet "meaningful use" criteria. METHODS: We surveyed primary care providers (PCPs) in 11 general internal medicine and family medicine practices affiliated with 3 health systems in Texas about their use and satisfaction with performing common tasks (documentation, medication prescribing, preventive services, problem list) in the Epic EHR, a common commercial system. Most practices had greater than 5 years of experience with the Epic EHR. We used multivariate logistic regression to model predictors of being a structured documenter, defined as using electronic templates or prepopulated dot phrases to document at least two of the three note sections (history, physical, assessment and plan). RESULTS: 146 PCPs responded (70%). The majority used free text to document the history (51%) and assessment and plan (54%) and electronic templates to document the physical exam (57%). Half of PCPs were structured documenters (55%) with family medicine specialty (adjusted OR 3.3, 95% CI, 1.4-7.8) and years since graduation (nonlinear relationship with youngest and oldest having lowest probabilities) being significant predictors. Nearly half (43%) reported spending at least one extra hour beyond each scheduled half-day clinic completing EHR documentation. Three-quarters were satisfied with documenting completion of pneumococcal vaccinations and half were satisfied with documenting cancer screening (57% for breast, 45% for colorectal, and 46% for cervical). Fewer were satisfied with reminders for overdue pneumococcal vaccination (48%) and cancer screening (38% for breast, 37% for colorectal, and 31% for cervical). While most believed the problem list was helpful (70%) and kept an up-to-date list for their patients (68%), half thought they were unreliable and inaccurate (51%). CONCLUSIONS: Dissatisfaction with and suboptimal use of key functions of the EHR may mitigate the potential for EHR use to improve preventive health and chronic disease management. Future work should optimize use of key functions and improve providers' time efficiency.

Screening for cancerous and precancerous conditions of the colon.

Five points for the primary care physician: 1. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the United States. 2. Guidelines recommend initiating CRC screening in average-risk patients at age 50 years, but in African Americans at age 45 years. 3. It is preferred that an informed decision is made by the patient with the help of their clinician about the type of screening test based on the patient's personal preferences. 4. Patients with personal history of chronic ulcerative colitis and Crohn colitis have significant cancer risk 8 years after the onset of pancolitis or 12 to 15 years after the onset of left-sided colitis. Colonoscopy every 1 to 2 years should be performed, with biopsies for dysplasia. 5. Counseling to consider genetic testing and early screening recommendations for those with personal or family history of familial adenomatous polyposis or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.

Management of hip fracture: the family physician's role.

The incidence of hip fracture is expected to increase as the population ages. One in five persons dies in the first year after sustaining a hip fracture, and those who survive past one year may have significant functional limitation. Although surgery is the main treatment for hip fracture, family physicians play a key role as patients' medical consultants. Surgical repair is recommended for stable patients within 24 to 48 hours of hospitalization. Antibiotic prophylaxis is indicated to prevent infection after surgery. Thromboprophylaxis has become the standard of care for management of hip fracture. Effective agents include unfractionated heparin, low-molecular-weight heparin, fondaparinux, and warfarin. Optimal pain control, usually with narcotic analgesics, is essential to ensure patient comfort and to facilitate rehabilitation. Rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery ideally should start on the first postoperative day with progression to ambulation as tolerated. Indwelling urinary catheters should be removed within 24 hours of surgery. Prevention, early recognition, and treatment of contributing factors for delirium also are crucial. Interventions to help prevent future falls, exercise and balance training in ambulatory patients, and the treatment of osteoporosis are important strategies for the secondary prevention of hip fracture.