Physicians Use Exchange and Evaluation of Electronic Medical Records EMR Baseline Reports and Electronic Medical Records

Purpose The Arizona State University Center for Health Information and Research (CHiR) would collaborate with AHCCCS to track the adoption and use of electronic medical records (EMRs) among allopathic and osteopathic physicians practicing in Arizona. The study will include all actively practicing physicians in Arizona, but will include survey questions that focus on physicians who serve AHCCCS members. Because the survey questions would follow the required questions asked of physicians at the time of licensure application, a high response rate is expected. Response rates for the most recent set of data (March 2012 - April 2013) were approximately 80%. Respondents would include physicians applying for new licenses in the state, those engaging in the 2-year renewal process, and those in residencies. Background CHiR has, since 1991, conducted ongoing collection of licensing data on all allopathic and osteopathic physicians who hold Arizona licenses through partnerships with the Arizona Medical Board and the Board of Osteopathic Examiners. CHiR regularly receives all the information collected by the licensing agencies on all physicians. The licensing information is augmented by survey questions that are included in the licensing application process. The current data base includes individual records on 24,476 physicians with Arizona licenses (not all practicing in Arizona) with data that include part of 2013. The survey questions that were put in place in 2011 include some questions that are comparable to the older, more limited paper survey instruments permitting selected comparisons of long term trends. The more detailed electronic survey questions that were new in 2011 are the source of trend data since that time. Allopathic physicians renew their licenses on a continuing basis, scheduled every two years on their birthdays. Osteopathic physicians renew their licenses every other year over a period of several months, generally November through January, with an extension period through April. Their 2013-2014 renewal cycle ended in May 2013. CHiR is also the home of Arizona HealthQuery (AZHQ), a community health data repository that is capable of identifying physicians who actively treat AHCCCS members.

The Arizona State University Center for Health Information and Research (CHiR) would continue its collaboration with AHCCCS to track the adoption and use of electronic medical records (EMRs) among allopathic and osteopathic physicians practicing in Arizona. The study will include all actively practicing physicians in Arizona and a focus on physicians who serve AHCCCS members.