A Brief Comment on Part Three

These tables presented in Part Three of this Checkup identify opportunities for improvement across all partner practices and also generally lower and much more variable levels of achievement among Better Health’s partners with paper-based medical records.

The explanations for the latter findings are multiple and complex, and beyond the scope of this Checkup. It is worth noting, however, that the paper-based practices serve populations of our community who are disadvantaged in many ways, as described in Characteristics of Our Patients and Practices. In addition, the practices themselves are in some ways disadvantaged by comparison to the larger systems with electronic medical records. Finally, the availability of EMRs per se facilitates better documentation and decision support for those sites fortunate enough to have them. As part of a region-wide effort, a United Way initiative is underway to: 1) enable Greater Cleveland’s safety net practices to obtain EMRs; and 2) facilitate linkages between our safety net practices and the large health care systems in the region, including The MetroHealth System, the Cleveland Clinic Health System, and the University Hospitals Health System.