Mortality and continuity of care - Definitions matter! A cohort study in diabetics.

Objective: To demonstrate that when investigating the relevance of continuity of care for patient outcomes, different definitions can lead to contradicting results.

Methods: We used claims data from the regional public health insurer of Lower Austria covering the period from 2008 to 2011. The study sample included subjects with repeated dispensings of anti-diabetic drugs.

Crucial factors for the acceptance of a computerized national medication list: insights into findings from the evaluation of the Austrian e-Medikation pilot.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to present crucial factors among registered doctors and pharmacists for acceptance of the Austrian 'e-Medikation' system which is aimed at providing, on a national level, complete and recent information on all the medication that were prescribed or dispensed to a patient.

Methods: As the accompanying formative evaluation study of the pilot project showed different overall acceptance rates among participating physicians and pharmacists, a decision tree analysis of 30 standardized survey items was performed to identify crucial acceptance factors.

Results: For the physicians' group, only two items (fear of improper data use and satisfaction with software support) were crucial for overall e-Medikation acceptance.

A nationwide computerized patient medication history: evaluation of the Austrian pilot project "e-Medikation".

Purpose: To manage medication treatment and to assure medication safety, health care professionals need a complete overview of all drugs that have been prescribed or are taken by a patient. In 2009, Austria launched the pilot project "e-Medikation" in three pilot regions. E-Medikation gives access to a patient's nationwide medication list and includes medication safety checks.

The Austrian e-Medikation pilot evaluation: lessons learned from a national medication list.

The objective of this paper is to present results and recommendations from the Austrian e-Medikation pilot project. e-Medikation comprises a national medication list of all prescribed and dispensed medications as well as central medication checks. Evaluation was based on log-file analysis and survey of all participants (physicians, pharmacists, patients).

Fragmentation of diabetes treatment in Austria - an indicator for the need for shared electronic health record systems.

Shared electronic health record (EHR) systems aim to support continuity of care within the joint treatment of a patient by a community of cooperating care providers. By analyzing the fragmentation of care of Austrian diabetes patients, we aim to find evidence whether there is actually a need for shared EHR systems in this context. Our results show that almost three quarters of the observed diabetes patients visit two or more different care providers during their diabetes-related visits.