Phoenix Newsletter - October 2025 President’s Message: Enduring Commitments in a Time of Change Read President’s Message: Enduring Commitments in a Time of Change
Home Research Research Library Do family physicians electronic health records support meaningful use? Do family physicians electronic health records support meaningful use? 2015 Author(s) Peterson, Lars E, Blackburn, Brenna E, Ivins, D J, Mitchell, J M, Matson, C, and Phillips, Robert L Topic(s) Role of Primary Care, and Achieving Health System Goals Keyword(s) Health Information Technology (HIT), and Quality Of Care Volume HealthCare Source HealthCare BACKGROUND: Spurred by government incentives, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States has increased; however, whether these EHRs have the functionality necessary to meet meaningful use (MU) criteria remains unknown. Our objective was to characterize family physician access to MU functionality when using a MU-certified EHR. METHODS: Data were obtained from a convenience survey of family physicians accessing their American Board of Family Medicine online portfolio in 2011. A brief survey queried MU functionality. We used descriptive statistics to characterize the responses and bivariate statistics to test associations between MU and patient communication functions by presence of a MU-certified EHR. RESULTS: Out of 3855 respondents, 60% reported having an EHR that supports MU. Physicians with MU-certified EHRs were more likely than physicians without MU-certified EHRs to report patient registry activities (49.7% vs. 32.3%, p-value<0.01), tracking quality measures (74.1% vs. 56.4%, p-value<0.01), access to labs or consultation notes, and electronic prescribing; but electronic communication abilities were low regardless of EHR capabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Family physicians with MU-certified EHRs are more likely to report MU functionality; however, a sizeable minority does not report MU functions. IMPLICATIONS: Many family physicians with MU-certified EHRs may not successfully meet the successively stringent MU criteria and may face significant upgrade costs to do so. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Cross sectional survey. ABFM Research Read all 2015 ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry Go to ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry 2018 Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician Go to Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician 2025 Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine Go to Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine 2019 Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks Go to Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks
Author(s) Peterson, Lars E, Blackburn, Brenna E, Ivins, D J, Mitchell, J M, Matson, C, and Phillips, Robert L Topic(s) Role of Primary Care, and Achieving Health System Goals Keyword(s) Health Information Technology (HIT), and Quality Of Care Volume HealthCare Source HealthCare
ABFM Research Read all 2015 ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry Go to ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry 2018 Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician Go to Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician 2025 Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine Go to Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine 2019 Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks Go to Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks
2015 ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry Go to ABFM to Simplify Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Family Physicians and Make It More Meaningful: A Family Medicine Registry
2018 Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician Go to Slow Progress and Persistent Challenges for the Underrepresented Minority Family Physician
2025 Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine Go to Lifetime Impact of the Gender Wage Gap in Family Medicine
2019 Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks Go to Experience of Family Physicians in Practice Transformation Networks