Primary Care Physicians’ Satisfaction With Interoperable Health Information Technology

Key Points

Question

What were primary care physician perspectives on access to health information from outside organizations after years of policy support for interoperability (the ability of health information technology systems to exchange information and to use that information without special effort)?

Findings

In this survey study of 2088 physicians, 70% indicated being at least somewhat satisfied with access to outside information. However, only 23% indicated that it was very easy to use outside information, and very few (8%) indicated that it was very easy to use information from different electronic health record systems.

Meaning

The findings of this study suggest that 6 years after the 21st Century Cures Act, the policy goal of ubiquitous, high-value interoperable health information appears to remain a work in progress with heterogeneous barriers—including both too much information and missing information—limiting the value of interoperability.

Abstract

Importance

Enabling widespread interoperability—the ability of health information technology systems to exchange information and to use that information without special effort—is a primary focus of public policy on health information technology. More information on clinicians’ experience using that technology can serve as one measure of the impact of that policy.

Objective

To assess primary care physician perspectives on the state of interoperability.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A cross-sectional survey of family medicine physicians in the US was conducted from December 12, 2021, to October 12, 2022. A sample of family medicine physicians who completed the Continuous Certification Questionnaire (CCQ), a required part of the American Board of Family Medicine certification process, which has a 100% response rate, were invited to participate.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Eighteen items on the CCQ assessed experience accessing and using various information from outside organizations, including medications, immunizations, and allergies.

Results

A total of 2088 physicians (1053 women [50%]; age reported categorically as either ≥50 years or <50 years) completed the CCQ interoperability questions in 2022. Of these respondents, 35% practiced in hospital or health system–owned practices, while 27% practiced in independently owned practices. Eleven percent were very satisfied with their ability to electronically access all 10 types of information from outside organizations included on the questionnaire, and a mean of 70% were at least somewhat satisfied. A total of 23% of family medicine physicians reported information from outside organizations was very easy to use, and an additional 65% reported that information was somewhat easy to use. Only 8% reported that information from different electronic health record (EHR) developers’ products was very easy to use compared with 38% who reported information from the same EHR developer’s product was very easy to use.

Conclusions and Relevance

This survey study of family medicine physicians found modest and uneven improvement in physicians’ experience with interoperability. These findings suggest that substantial heterogeneity in satisfaction by information type, source of information, EHR, practice type, ownership, and patient population necessitates diverse policy and strategies to improve interoperability.

Abstract

This survey study examines the ease of use by US family medicine physicians in obtaining information on patients through electronic health records, both within and across varied developers.