Does Electronic Health Record Systems Implementation Impact Hospital Efficiency, Profitability, and Quality?

Abstract

This paper empirically analyzed how electronic health records (EHR) systems impacted hospital operations. This study examined the merits of implementing EHR in operational efficiency, profitability, and service quality delivered to patients. Therefore, this research tested three hypotheses postulating overall positive associations of EHR implementation for the three areas, respectively. This paper used the 2015 American Hospital Association U. S. Hospital Survey dataset and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems dataset. To measure each hospital’s efficiency, this study developed a data envelopment analysis model with four inputs including beds, doctors, nurses, and total operating expenses, and three outputs including outpatient visits, inpatient days, and total patient revenues. This research used the operating margin to measure the hospital profitability, while patient experience ratings and readmission rates were used to measure the hospital quality. Results indicated that EHR implementing hospitals outperformed non-EHR implementing hospitals in operational efficiency, profitability, and quality.