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Electronic Medical Records and Physician Productivity: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis

Author

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  • Hemant K. Bhargava

    (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 15616)

  • Abhay Nath Mishra

    (Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303)

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of an electronic medical record (EMR) system on the productivity of physicians. Physicians influence a vast majority of treatment decisions and are central to the care delivery process; thus, it is important to understand how EMRs may impact the nature of their work. Our research builds on prior literature on physician productivity, IT productivity, and task--technology fit theory. We use a unique panel data set comprising 87 physicians specializing in internal medicine, pediatrics, and family practice, located in 12 primary care clinics of an academic healthcare system in the western United States. We employ the Arellano--Bond system generalized method of moments estimation technique on our data set, which contains 3,186 physician-month productivity observations collected over 39 months. We find that productivity drops sharply immediately after technology implementation and recovers partly over the next few months. The ultimate, longer-term impact depends on physician specialty. The net impact of the EMR system is more benign on internal medicine physicians than on pediatricians and family practitioners. We postulate that the fit provided by an EMR system to the task requirements of physicians of various specialties may be key to disentangling the productivity dynamics. Our research finds that on one hand, present-day EMR systems do not produce the kind of productivity gain that could lead to substantial savings in healthcare; at the same time, EMRs do not cause a major productivity loss on a sustained basis, as many physicians fear. This paper was accepted by Lorin Hitt, information systems .

Suggested Citation

  • Hemant K. Bhargava & Abhay Nath Mishra, 2014. "Electronic Medical Records and Physician Productivity: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(10), pages 2543-2562, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:60:y:2014:i:10:p:2543-2562
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2014.1934
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Seokjun Youn & Gregory R. Heim & Subodha Kumar & Chelliah Sriskandarajah, 2021. "Examining the Impacts of Clinical Practice Variation on Operational Performance," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(4), pages 839-863, April.
    4. Sam Ransbotham & Eric M. Overby & Michael C. Jernigan, 2021. "Electronic Trace Data and Legal Outcomes: The Effect of Electronic Medical Records on Malpractice Claim Resolution Time," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4341-4361, July.
    5. Chad Syverson, 2017. "Challenges to Mismeasurement Explanations for the US Productivity Slowdown," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 165-186, Spring.
    6. Torsten Oliver Salge & David Antons & Michael Barrett & Rajiv Kohli & Eivor Oborn & Stavros Polykarpou, 2022. "How IT Investments Help Hospitals Gain and Sustain Reputation in the Media: The Role of Signaling and Framing," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(1), pages 110-130, March.
    7. Brad N. Greenwood & Kartik K. Ganju & Corey M. Angst, 2019. "How Does the Implementation of Enterprise Information Systems Affect a Professional’s Mobility? An Empirical Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 563-594, June.
    8. Sulin Ba & Barrie R. Nault, 2017. "Emergent Themes in the Interface Between Economics of Information Systems and Management of Technology," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 26(4), pages 652-666, April.
    9. Ramkumar Janakiraman & Eunho Park & Emre M. Demirezen & Subodha Kumar, 2023. "The Effects of Health Information Exchange Access on Healthcare Quality and Efficiency: An Empirical Investigation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(2), pages 791-811, February.
    10. Anna Custers & Prathap Kasina & Deepak Saraswat & Anjali P. Verma, 2022. "Can Technology Mitigate the Impact of Heat on Labor Productivity? Experimental Evidence from India," Working papers 2022-10, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    11. Abhay Nath Mishra & Youyou Tao & Mark Keil & Jeong-ha (Cath) Oh, 2022. "Functional IT Complementarity and Hospital Performance in the United States: A Longitudinal Investigation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(1), pages 55-75, March.
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