Are family physicians comprehensively using electronic medical records such that the data can be used for secondary purposes? A Canadian perspective

Table 1 Fields for EMR usage assessed and their measures

	EMR usage field	Measure^a
Practice style independent fields	Visit documentation	Billings in the EMR for an office visit with a corresponding progress note entry on the same day
	Blood pressure and weight recording	Blood pressure or weight recorded in the structured variable
	Completeness of the Cumulative Patient Profile [CPP]	Populated allergies, immunizations, active treatment, risk factors, personal traits, family history and medical history [history of past health and problem list included together] fields
Practice style dependent fields	Laboratory test results provided through an electronic link.	At least one laboratory test
	Using the EMR to generate and record prescriptions	At least one prescription
	Using the EMR for generating referral letters from the family physician to the specialist	Entry in the EMR in the referral’s field
	EMRs including specialist consultant reports.	Entry in the EMR in the specialist’s consulatation letter field

^aMeasures calculated as the mean percent for number of active rostered patients [rostered patients with completed fields for CPP measures] having the measure in a given year/the number of active rostered patients [rostered patients for CPP measures] in a given year

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