Electronic Health Reporter

Practice Fusion, the #1 cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) platform for doctors and patients, announced the findings of a recent study that reviewed and analyzed 1.1 million anonymized, de-identified patient records managed using the Practice Fusion platform. Conducted by researchers from Stanford University and Houston Methodist, the study concluded that acid reflux medications – which include common medications such as Prilosec OTC? and Prevacid? – may be associated with an increase in the risks of patients’ having heart attacks. Studies such as this help demonstrate the vast potential of the 100 million patient records under management on the Practice Fusion platform to: (1) help physicians treat patients more intelligently; and (2) help providers and other healthcare stakeholders provide better therapies for patients.

Key Facts about the Stanford and Houston Methodist Study:
• Leveraging Practice Fusion data, researchers discovered that common acid reflux medications may be associated with an increased risk of heart attack in patients.
• This study demonstrates the potential uses of the 100 million patient records under management on the Practice Fusion platform, including aiding in research that can help improve patient therapies and treatment options.
• Study conducted from 1.1 million anonymized, de-identified patient records managed using the Practice Fusion platform.

The impact of this study could have wide ranging implications as acid reflux medications are the third most commonly taken medication – used by nearly 1 in 14 Americans – according to the FDA. As most long-term side effects cannot be unearthed during relatively short clinical trials, it is incredibly important to provide EHR data to researchers so they can perform virtual after-market clinical trials. By analyzing real-time, aggregated physician-entered data that has been stripped of any identifiable personal information, medical researchers can uncover a vast array of potentially helpful or harmful side effects for patients that simply is not possible without aggregated EHR data.

“With over 100 million patient records currently under management, the power of using de-identified data from the Practice Fusion platform to effectively gauge clinical trials, years after they’ve concluded, is unprecedented,” commented Ryan Howard, Practice Fusion, CEO and Founder. “With this latest published medical discovery, Practice Fusion is delivering on our commitment to save lives by leveraging EHR data to push the science of medicine forward.”

About Practice Fusion
Practice Fusion is the #1 cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) platform for doctors and patients, with a mission of connecting doctors, patients and data to drive better health and save lives. A driving force in modernizing American health care, Practice Fusion is used by a community of more than 112,000 monthly active medical professionals with over 100 million patient records under management. In 2014, Practice Fusion’s EHR facilitated over 56 million patient visits (approximately 6% of all ambulatory visits in the US) and is the fastest growing EHR in the US.