According to a new study from the Hudson Valley Initiative, a Fishkill, N.Y.-based healthcare reform effort from three providers: Taconic IPA, Taconic Health Information Network and Community, and MedAllies, the use of EHRs in an physician office leads to better quality care. The study, "Electronic Health Records and Ambulatory Quality of Care," found that physicians using EHRs scored significantly higher on quality of care for four screening measures for diabetes, breast cancer, Chlamydia, and colorectal cancer.

The study from Hudson Valley used data from 466 local physicians in the community setting. It was conducted by researchers associated with Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Results from it appear in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"Use of an EHR is a critical component of advanced primary care," A. John Blair III, M.D., president of Taconic IPA and CEO of MedAllies, the Hudson Valley's health information services provider, said in a statement. "As with any health IT tool, an EHR is only part of the solution and must be integrated into the practice workflow and used by the care team to advance high quality, patient-centered care." All the physicians in the Weill-Cornell study were members of Taconic IPA, which now boasts an 80 percent EHR adoption rate.