Enter Your Email Address to Receive a
Copy of MedicExhange Member Demograhpics

Hospitals with Health Information Technology (automated notes and records, order entry, and clinical decision support) had fewer complications, lower mortality rates, and lower costs, according to a study published in the Archives Of Internal medicine. The multiple hospital cross-sectional study was conducted by Ruben Amarasingham and colleagues.The study was conducted on urban hospitals in Texas using the Clinical Information Technology Assessment Tool (CITAT) , which measures a hospital's level of automation based on physician interactions with the information system. Physicians responses from 41 metropolitan acute-care hospitals were analysed while 31 additional surveyed hospitals did not generate enough responses [≥5] to be included in the analysis.  Clinical information systems of hospitals were divided into four principal sub-domains: notes and records (documentation), test results, order entry, and decision support. The degree of automation was assessed against in-hospital mortality, complication rates, inpatient costs, and length of stay for four common medical conditions (myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, coronary artery bypass grafting, and pneumonia).After adjustment for potential confounders, it was examined whether greater automation of hospital information was associated with reduced rates of inpatient mortality, complications, costs, and length of stay for 167 233 patients older than 50 years admitted to responding hospitals between December 1, 2005, and May 30, 2006.

For all medical conditions studied, a 10-point increase in the automation of notes and records was associated with a 15% decrease in the adjusted odds of fatal hospitalizations. Higher scores in order entry were associated with 9% and 55% decreases in the adjusted odds of death for myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft procedures, respectively. For all causes of hospitalization, higher scores in decision support were associated with a 16% decrease in the adjusted odds of complications. Higher scores on test results, order entry, and decision support were associated with lower costs for all hospital admissions.

An accompanying editorial about by David W. Bates, states that increased use of health information technology can improve quality of healthcare, patient safety safety and healthcare reduce costs. Also there is doubts whether Health IT is solely responsible for the study findings as the high-tech hospitals tend to have more resources for patient care. The other major factor is the cost of implementing health information technology.

Source: Archives Of Internal medicine