Information Technology Sophistication And Outcomes Of Acute Care Hospitals In Texas

Abstract

This exploratory study tested relationships between information technology sophistication and clinical and financial outcomes of acute care hospitals. The hospital sample was Texas hospitals (N =175) with available data for a profile of their information technology infrastructure, combined with demographic and operations data from public use files for the annual 2002 reporting period. Three measures of information technology sophistication were used: functional, technical, and integration of information, with an additional composite index measure. Clinical outcomes were measured using selected Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators and in-hospital mortality. Patient revenues by number of days and admissions were the financial measures. Small, but significant relationships existed between information technology sophistication and three of the seven clinical care indicators: mortality, postoperative hemorrhage, and postoperative hip fracture rates. The strongest care indicator relationships were between functional information technology sophistication, integration of information sophistication and the postoperative hip fracture rate with an adjusted R2 of .33 and .34 respectively. The financial models showed significantly positive relationships of information technology sophistication with patient revenues. Functional sophistication and integration of information results showed coefficients of adjusted R2 .64 and .66 respectively.

This study confirms earlier studies of the positive relationship of information technology capability and positive financial outcomes in acute care hospitals. A relationship of information technology capability with patient care process outcomes in hospitals has not been previously reported. Further research is needed to refine the measures and confirm the relationships.