Ability to perform registry functions among practices with and without electronic health records.

Patient care registries allow physicians to identify patients based on a subset of conditions, including medicine prescribed, laboratory results and diagnosis. The presence of EHRs and a physician's ability to query across patient medical records is unknown in Massachusetts. A survey was conducted to examine the presence of EHRs in medical practices, and the degree to which EHRs enable physicians to carry out registry functions. EHR adoption was correlated with the use of registry functions.