Electronic Health Record Data Maturity in Rural Primary Care

The potential benefits of the use of electronic health records for both patient-level and population-level health are clear. The collection of demographic and clinical data once difficult to collect via paper records and now routinely collected electronically affords an unprecedented opportunity to leverage medical records data as actionable information. However, the time, investment, and challenges associated with quality, accurate, reliable data cannot be overlooked. This session will focus on challenges encountered and solutions developed in two rural, West Virginia primary care centers in their efforts to make meaningful use of electronic health record data. This assemblage of experiential knowledge helps to inform the growing body of literature on application of electronic health record data to patient care and population health.