Community-level electronic prescribing and adverse drug event hospitalizations among older adults

This study sought to determine how the proportion of physicians using electronic prescribing in nine US states was associated with the hospitalization rate for adverse drug events among older adult patients. A discharge-level analysis of the relationship between county electronic prescribing and adverse drug event hospitalization rates was conducted. Data from the 2011 State Inpatient Databases, the Office of the National Coordinator Health IT Dashboard, and the Area Health Resource File were obtained for nine US states. The analysis examined the odds that a discharge for older adults would have been adverse drug event associated, versus other causes, using multivariable logistic regression models. After adjusting for patient, provider, health infrastructure, and community factors, the lowest county electronic prescribing rate quartile was associated with significantly greater odds of an adverse drug event hospitalization (odds ratio: 1.10; 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.19). Early results indicate greater odds of adverse drug event hospitalizations among older adults living in counties with low electronic prescribing rates when compared to those in high electronic prescribing counties.