Impact of immediate access to the electronic medical record on anatomic pathology performance.

OBJECTIVES To assess the overall impact of access to the electronic medical record (EMR) on anatomic pathology performance. METHODS We reviewed the results of all use of the EMR by 1 pathologist over an 18-month period. RESULTS Of the 10,107 cases (913 cytology and 9,194 surgical pathology) reviewed, the EMR (excluding anatomic pathology records) was accessed in 222 (2.2% of all cases, 6.5% of all cytology cases, and 1.8% of all surgical pathology cases). The EMR was used to evaluate a critical value in 20 (9.0%) cases and make a more specific diagnosis in 77 (34.7%) cases, a less specific diagnosis in 4 (1.8%) cases, and a systemic rather than localized diagnosis in 4 (1.8%) cases. The percentage of cases in which the physician was contacted decreased from 7.3% for the prior 18 months to 6.7%, but this change was not significant (P = .13). Twelve cases were subsequently sent for interinstitutional consultation, and no disagreements were identified. CONCLUSIONS The EMR was accessed in 2.2% of all surgical pathology and cytology cases and affected the diagnosis in 48% of these cases.