Health information technology and physician perceptions of quality of care and satisfaction

Objective: To examine across seven countries the relationship between physician office information system capacity and the quality of care. Design: Multivariate analysis of a cross-sectional 2006 random survey of primary care physicians in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States. Main outcome measures: coordination and safety of care, care for chronically ill patients, and satisfaction with practice of medicine. Results: The study finds significant disparities in the quality of health care between practices with low information system capacity and those with high technical capacity after controlling for within country differences and practice size. There were significant physician satisfaction differences with the overall experience of practicing medicine by information system level. Conclusions: For policy leaders, the seven-nation survey suggests that health systems that promote information system infrastructure are better able to address coordination and safety issues, particularly for patients with multiple chronic conditions, as well as to maintain primary care physician workforce satisfaction.