An Exploration of the Impact of EMR Capabilities on Hospital Quality Measures in U.S.

The Electronic medical records (EMR) is one of the most important components of health information technology. Examining the impact of EMR on quality of healthcare delivery is a topic of significant importance. This study aims at exploring the relationship between the synergy among EMR capabilities and healthcare quality performance of hospitals. It also extends the analysis of EMR capabilities effects on quality of healthcare beyond investment focus to examine how the assimilation and use of different EMR capabilities impact various healthcare quality measures. We used archival data to conduct a five-year longitudinal study of a large panel of U. S. hospitals. Our results suggest that the synergy among EMR capabilities is associated with lower heart mortality major conditions' negative effects as well as higher level of patient satisfaction. Our results also suggest that the greater assimilation and use of EMR capabilities are also associated with lower heart mortality major conditions' negative effects. We believe the study has important policy implications for health IT investments and studying their quality implications.