Electronic dental record use and clinical information management patterns among practitioner-investigators in The Dental Practice-Based Research Network

Abstract

Objectives Determine the: (1) extent of computer use for managing clinical information among practitioner-investigators in The Dental Practice-Based Research Network (DPBRN); (2) type of patient information kept electronically; and (3) willingness to reuse electronic dental record (EDR) data for research. Methods Web-based survey of 991 U.S. and Scandinavian practitioner-investigators. Results 729 (74%) practitioner-investigators responded. Seventy-four percent of US solo and 78.7% of group practitioners used a computer to manage clinical information, and 14.3% and 15.9%, respectively, were paperless. U.S. practitioners stored appointments, treatment plans, completed treatment and images most often electronically, and the periodontal chart, diagnoses, medical history, progress notes and chief complaint least often. Over 90% of Scandinavian practitioners stored all information electronically. Fifty-one percent of all respondents were willing to re-use EDR data for research and 63% preferred electronic forms for data collection. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that the trend towards increased adoption of EDRs in the US is continuing, potentially making more data in electronic form available for research. Respondents appear to be willing to reuse EDR data for research and collect data electronically. Clinical implications The rising adoption of EDRs may offer increased opportunities for reusing electronic data for quality assurance and research.

Reusing electronic patient data for dental clinical research: A review of current status

“…We may be able to reduce this gap as more dentists adopt EDRs, as suggested by our recent survey (13). …”

“…The experience during the practice-based research network (PBRN)’s initial funding period has shown that there are more relevant research questions than can be practically addressed using the typical PBRN study approach; that some important long-term research questions do not fit very well into the timeframe of a PBRN study; and that costs and practice workflow issues limit the “throughput” of the PBRN system. Given the fact that approximately 75% of DPBRN practitioners use a computer to manage clinical information and 15% are paperless (13), secondary analysis of EDR data is increasingly compelling.…”

Using Electronic Dental Record Data for Research

“…For instance, EDRs contain most of the fields shown in the section Patient Screening and Enrollment (Schleyer et al, 2007). Our studies have shown significant growth in the amount of clinical information that dentists in the US store on computers (Schleyer et al, 2006(Schleyer et al, , 2012, making these data potentially available for research.…”

BigMouth: a multi-institutional dental data repository

“…The overwhelming majority of dental schools in the USA have already adopted EHRs 56 In 2013, 73.8% of solo practitioners and 78.7% of dentists in group practices participating in dental practice-based research networks (DPBRNs) used computers to manage clinical information 7. Several dental EHR systems, including Dentrix, EagleSoft, and SoftDent, are used in private practice.…”