Safety Net Primary Care Sites Lag in Electronic Information Exchange Capabilities

Safety net primary care clinics have kept pace with other primary care practices in using health information technology (IT) for patient engagement and population management, but many have fallen behind in health information exchange, according to a study published in Medical Care.

“[W]e find that primary care practices serving higher shares of Medicaid and uninsured patients have adopted advanced use of patient engagement and population health management tools at similar rates to nonsafety net practices,” wrote corresponding author Dori A. Cross, PhD, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and study coauthors. “These rates are not particularly high, suggesting significant room for continued progress, but this parity is encouraging given the persistent digital divide among US hospitals regarding advanced use of health IT features.”

Researchers surveyed 1776 physician practices throughout the US to estimate the advanced use of health IT in primary care and how safety net settings differed from nonsafety net settings.

Overall use of health IT was common, according to the study. However, only between 30% and 50% of health IT use involved advanced health IT capabilities.

Although safety net settings were on par with others for using patient engagement and population management features, they lagged behind when it came to robust electronic information exchange capabilities. The exception was safety net primary care sites that were part of a health system or practice network, which reported health IT capabilities comparable to nonsafety net sites.

“All outpatient settings would benefit from improved electronic health record usability and implementation support that facilitates advanced use of health IT,” researchers wrote. “Safety net practices, particularly those without other sources of centralized support, need targeted resources to maintain equitable access to information exchange capabilities.”

Reference

Cross DA, Stevens MA, Spivack SB, Murray GF, Rodriguez HP, Lewis VA. Survey of information exchange and advanced use of other health information technology in primary care settings: capabilities in and outside of the safety net. Med Care. 2022;60(2):140-148. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000001673