Diffusion of Electronic Health Records in Rural Primary Care Clinics

Location

3034

Format Type

Paper

Format Type

Paper

Start Date

January 2016

End Date

January 2016

Abstract

By the end of 2015, Medicare-eligible physicians at primary care practices (PCP) who do not use an electronic health record (EHR) system will incur stiff penalties if they fail to meet the deadline for using EHRs. Yet, less than 30% of rural primary clinics have fully functional EHR systems. The purpose of this phenomenology study was to explore rural primary care physicians and physician assistants’ experiences regarding overcoming barriers to implementing EHRs. Complex adaptive systems formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a purposeful sample of 21 physicians and physician assistants across 2 rural PCPs in the southeastern region of Missouri. Participant perceptions were elicited regarding overcoming barriers to implementing EHRs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act legislation. Interview questions were transcribed and processed through qualitative software to discern themes of how rural PCP physicians and physician assistants might overcome barriers to implementing electronic health records. Through the exploration of the narrative segments, 4 emergent themes were common among the participants: (a) limited finances to support EHRs, (b) health information exchange issues, (c) lack of business education, and (d) lack of transformation at rural medical practices.

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Diffusion of Electronic Health Records in Rural Primary Care Clinics

3034

By the end of 2015, Medicare-eligible physicians at primary care practices (PCP) who do not use an electronic health record (EHR) system will incur stiff penalties if they fail to meet the deadline for using EHRs. Yet, less than 30% of rural primary clinics have fully functional EHR systems. The purpose of this phenomenology study was to explore rural primary care physicians and physician assistants’ experiences regarding overcoming barriers to implementing EHRs. Complex adaptive systems formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a purposeful sample of 21 physicians and physician assistants across 2 rural PCPs in the southeastern region of Missouri. Participant perceptions were elicited regarding overcoming barriers to implementing EHRs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act legislation. Interview questions were transcribed and processed through qualitative software to discern themes of how rural PCP physicians and physician assistants might overcome barriers to implementing electronic health records. Through the exploration of the narrative segments, 4 emergent themes were common among the participants: (a) limited finances to support EHRs, (b) health information exchange issues, (c) lack of business education, and (d) lack of transformation at rural medical practices.