Meaningful Use IT reduces hospital-caused adverse drug events even at challenged hospitals.

BACKGROUND: many Meaningful Use (MU) requirements involve medication management. Little is known about what impact these will have on adverse drug events (ADEs) at challenged hospitals.
METHODS: we use the Florida State Inpatient Database (HCUP, AHRQ), the AHA IT Supplement, and Hospital Compare. Controlling for non-response selection bias, we use multi-level GLLAMM regression analysis to examine the impact of the 5 core MU medication elements on hospital-caused ADEs.
RESULTS: adopting all 5 core MU elements was associated with a reduction in ADEs. Hospitals reporting costs as the main barrier to MU reduced their ADE rates by 35%; low quality hospitals reduced ADEs by 29%, compared to 27% at high quality hospitals. Among hospitals reporting these medication elements among their top MU challenges, ADEs were reduced by 69%, compared to 45% for hospitals with no drug functions as their top MU challenges. However, ADEs increased by 14% at hospitals with physician resistance to MU, compared to a 52% ADE reduction without physician resistance.
CONCLUSIONS: the bundling all five medication functions in MU is associated with large reductions in ADEs. IMPLICATIONS: without physician buy-in at the hospital, MU will have no impact on ADEs. Published by Elsevier Inc.