Background
There is limited data on the use and functionality level of electronic health records (EHRs) supporting primary child health care in Europe. Our objective was to determine European primary child health care providers` use of EHRs, and functionality level of the systems used.
Methods
European primary care paediatricians, paediatric subspecialists and family doctors were invited by European Academy of Paediatrics Research in Ambulatory Setting Network (EAPRASnet) country coordinators to complete a web based survey on the use of EHRs and the systems` functionalities. Binomial logistic analysis has been used to evaluate the effect of specialty and type of practice on the use of EHRs.
Results
The survey was completed by 679 respondents (response rate 53%).Five hundred and fifty four responses coming from ten predominant countries were taken for further analysis. EHR use by respondents varied widely between countries, all electronic type use ranging between 7% to 97%. There was no significant difference in EHR use between group practice and solo practitioners, or between family doctors and primary care paediatricians. History and physical examination can be properly recorded by respondents in most countries. However, growth chart plotting capacity in some countries ranges between 22-50%. Vaccination recording capacity varies between 50-100%, and data exchange capacity with immunization databases is mostly limited, ranging between 0-54%.
Conclusions
There is marked heterogeneity in the use and functionalities of EHRs used in primary child health care in Europe. The lack of critical paediatric supportive functionalities like growth tracking and vaccination status, documented in some countries, highlight the need to develop a cross European paediatric EHR standards.
