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The agreement and internal consistency of national hospital EMR measures

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Abstract

There has been national focus on increasing the use of electronic medical records (EMR) in hospitals because of their potential to improve care. Previous research has examined EMR use and reported an inconsistent relationship between EMR use and performance. This study examines the agreement between and the internal consistency of two national datasets that measure hospital EMR use. Data include the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American Hospital Association (AHA). This analysis is essential to determine the strength and challenges of the nationally available EMR measures that are used in research, which informs national policy and practice. The results show very poor agreement between the two national datasets on hospital EMR use. The datasets demonstrate some internal consistency. In the absence of a gold standard measure of EMR use, researchers must be aware of the limitations of national EMR measures, and future research may validate the datasets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, 151 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Abby Swanson Kazley

  2. Department of Health Systems Management, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, Ste. 1900, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Mark L. Diana

  3. Health Care Organization and Policy, UAB School of Public Health, 1665 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Nir Menachemi

Authors
  1. Abby Swanson Kazley
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  2. Mark L. Diana
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  3. Nir Menachemi
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Correspondence to Abby Swanson Kazley.

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Kazley, A.S., Diana, M.L. & Menachemi, N. The agreement and internal consistency of national hospital EMR measures. Health Care Manag Sci 14, 307–313 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-011-9165-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10729-011-9165-8

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