The receipt of information by family physicians about their patient’s emergency department visits: a record linkage study of electronic medical records to health administrative data

Abstract

Background Canadians are known to be frequent users of emergency department (ED) care. However, the exchange of information from ED visits to family physicians (FPs) is not well known. Our objectives were to determine whether Canadian FPs received information about their patient’s ED visit and the patient characteristics related to the receipt of ED information. Methods This study was a descriptive record linkage study of FP Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data linked to health administrative data. Our study cohort included patients who had at least one ED visit in 2010 or 2015 in Ontario, Canada. An ED visit could include a transfer to or from another ED. The receipt of information from an ED note was examined in relation to patient age, sex, neighbourhood income quintiles, rurality and comorbidity. Results There were 26,609 patients in 2010 and 50,541 patients in 2015 with at least one ED visit. In 2010, 53.3% of FPs received an ED note for patients having a single ED visit compared to 41.0% in 2015. For patients with multiple ED visits, 58.2% of FPs received an ED note in 2010 compared to 45.7% in 2015. FPs were more likely to receive an ED note for patients not living in low income neighbourhoods, older patients, patients living in small urban areas and for patients having moderate comorbidity. FPs were less likely to receive a note for patients living in rural areas. Conclusions Community-based FPs are more likely to get information after an ED visit for their older and sicker patients. However, FPs do not receive any information from EDs for over half their patients. Electronic health record technologies and their adoption by ED providers need to improve the seamless transfer of information about the care provided in EDs to FPs in the community.

Barriers of Utilizing an Electronic Health System in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Several professionals are of the opinion that electronic health systems might compromise the privacy of patients [26]. An electronic health system is now in jeopardy, which puts the private information of patients in jeopardy.…”

“…The vast majority of medical professionals, even those who work with the electronic health system, are of the opinion that paper records provide a higher level of privacy and protection from unauthorized access [26]. As seen this, the adoption of an electronic health system has been hampered by patients' worries about the safety and confidentiality of the information that identifies them personally, which has led to a lack of innovation.…”

“…It has been demonstrated in a surprising number of studies that practitioners who utilize electronic medical systems find it difficult to input data into the systems [17]. According to findings from research conducted by Loomis in 2002, the majority of electronic health system users rated data input as being both time-consuming and burdensome [26]. When confronted with the challenges they face, medical professionals frequently struggle when attempting to enter data.…”