Influencing Physician Drug Prescription Habits Towards Cost Containment

In Israel, diffusion of clinical information systems is almost universal in ambulatory medical services. The drug prescription module embedded in a widely-used electronic patient record system has the capacity to intervene and notify physicians about available generic or therapeutic substitute drugs, when their first choice is outside the insurer\u27s preferred drug list. The objective of this paper is to study how such intervention influences drug prescription habits of physicians and helps contain costs. To this end we monitored system use for 40 weeks, recording physicians’ willingness to change their choice to a substitute following system notification. Findings show higher physician compliance with generic substitutes than with therapeutic substitutes, based on a cognitive decision process upon notification, and increase in compliance over time, until stabilization. The resulting direct financial savings on expenditure for drugs, estimated to be 4.7% for chronic drugs, entail long-term savings

Acceptance and Usage of Electronic Health Record Systems in Small Medical Practices

One of the objectives of the U.S. government has been the development of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including adoption and use of an electronic health records (EHR) system. However, a 2008 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics indicated a 41.5% usage of the EHR system by physicians in office-based practices. The purpose of this study was to explore opinions and beliefs on the barriers to the diffusion of an ERH system using Q-methodology. Specifically, the research questions examined the subjectivity in the patterns of perspectives at the preadoption stage of the nonusers and at the postadoption stage of the users of an EHR system to facilitate effective diffusion. Data were collected by self-referred rank ordering of opinions on such barriers and facilitators. The results suggested that the postadoption barriers of time, change in work processes, and organizational factors were critical. Although the time barrier was common, barriers of organizational culture and change in work processes differed among typologies of perspectives at the postadoption stage. Preadoption barriers of finance, organizational culture, time, technology, and autonomy were critical. The typologies of perspectives diverged on critical barriers at the preadoptive stage. A customized solution of an in-house system and training is recommended for perspectives dealing with technical and organizational concerns and a web-based system for perspectives concerned with barriers of finance, technology, and organization. The social impact of tailoring solutions to personal viewpoints would result in the increased sharing of quality medical information for meaningful decision making

Electronic Health Record Implementation Strategies for Decreasing Healthcare Costs

Some managers of primary care provider (PCP) facilities lack the strategies to implement electronic health records (EHRs), which could decrease healthcare costs and enhance the efficiency and quality of healthcare that patients receive. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies PCP managers used to implement EHRs to decrease healthcare costs. The population consisted of 5 primary care managers with responsibility for the administration, oversight, and direct working knowledge of EHRs in Central Florida. The conceptual framework was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and the review of company documents, including training logs, activity records, and cost information. Methodological triangulation was used to validate the creditability and interpretation of the data in transcribing themes. Three themes emerged from the analysis of study data: implementation of EHRs, costs of implementing EHRs, and perceived usefulness of EHRs. Participants indicated that the implementation of EHRs depended on motivation, financial cost, and the usefulness of EHRs relating to training that reflected user-friendliness. The implications of this study for social change include the potential to lower the cost and improve the efficiency of healthcare for patients. The use of EHR systems could enhance the quality of care delivered to patients through improved accessibility, elimination of duplicative tests, and retrieval of accurate patient information. The use of EHRs can lead to a comprehensive preventative healthcare system resulting in a healthier environment