CDC: Imaging reports among most common PHI physicians share electronically
Medical imaging reports are the second most common type of patient health information (PHI) received electronically by physicians, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A majority of physicians who use electronic health records (EHRs) also send imaging reports, search for them and integrate them into their own records.
The report—Patient Health Information Shared Electronically by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2015—used data from the 2015 National Electronic Health Records Survey to track the types of PHI being shared electronically with EHRs.
Overall, the PHI most commonly received electronically by physicians were laboratory results (more than 78 percent), imaging reports (more than 60 percent) and medication lists (more than 54 percent). In addition, the types of PHI most commonly integrated into EHRs were laboratory results (more than 73 percent), imaging reports (more than 49 percent) and hospital discharge summaries (more than 48 percent).
“These are the first national estimates of PHI type according to the aspects of interoperability among physicians with EHR systems, and these estimates can potentially be used as a benchmark for future studies,” wrote author Ninee S. Yang, PhD, a researcher at the CDC, and colleagues. “Combined with measures of electronic sharing of PHI by physicians, information on the specific type of PHI shared electronically among office-based physicians will assist in tracking progress outlined in the federal plan for achieving interoperability.”
The study also found more than 56 percent of office-based physicians sent imaging reports electronically using an EHR. Referrals, laboratory results and medication lists were all more commonly sent by those physicians than imaging reports.
Imaging reports were also searched for electronically by more than 58 percent of office-based physicians who use EHRs.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.