Though the frequency of reporting has likely increased since the pandemic, only 18% of PCPs and 12% of all doctors exchanged data electronically with PHAs in 2019, according to a new report from ONC_HealthIT.
Only 18% of primary care physicians and 12% of all doctors exchanged data electronically with public health agencies in 2019, according to aHowever, the percentage of PCPs who exchanged data electronically with public health agencies was five percentage points higher in 2019 than in 2018, the report noted. Moreover, it is likely that the frequency of electronic reporting to these agencies has increased since 2019 because of COVID-19.
About 29% of the doctors responding to the survey said that their practices didn't exchange any patient information electronically. Another quarter of the respondents said they didn't know whether their practices reported public health data electronically. Similarly, 44% of PCPs electronically searched for vaccination or immunization history information from sources outside their practice or system. But only 41% of general practitioners and family physicians did so, compared with 53% of internists and 51% of pediatricians.
The percentage of PCPs who looked for public health data outside their practices was more than twice as high as the portion of primary care doctors who exchanged data electronically with PHAs. Asked why so many physicians sought this information from sources other than their county or state health departments, Kelley said it had to do with the completeness and quality of the data available from PHAs.
Physicians who used an EHR with a large market share had the highest rates of electronic exchange with PHAs and were also more likely to search for vaccination or immunization information from outside sources. One reason for this, suggested Kelley, is that the major EHRs have modules designed to exchange information with PHAs, but the EHRs typically used by independent practices tend to have less advanced interoperability features.