The impact of electronic medical records on timeliness of diagnosis of asthma.

We assessed timeliness of diagnosis of asthma before and after the inception of electronic medical record (EMR). The proportions of children with a delay in diagnosis of asthma before and after the inception of EMR were 67.8% and 56.8%, respectively (p = 0.088). A significant proportion of children have delayed diagnosis of asthma, and availability of EMR plays a minimal role in reducing delays in diagnosis of asthma. However, considering the limited statistical power and a potential trend of EMR toward the positive impact on timely diagnosis of asthma, the study results need to be revisited in a larger study.