Health IT-enabled care coordination leaves much to be desired, according to a new survey of clinicians. The survey results were published online in the May/June issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

The survey showed that although 78 percent of the 350 respondents viewed timely notification of hospital discharges as very important, only about 49 percent used health IT systems to accomplish this task.

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The activity most frequently supported by health IT was providing clinical summaries to patients, in 76.6 percent of practices. However, a mere 47.7 percent considered this activity "very important," according to the survey.

Greater use of health IT to support care coordination activities was positively associated with the presence of a non-clinician responsible for care coordination and the practice's capacity for systematic change, according to the survey.

[See also: Care coordination is key to cost control.]

The survey revealed inconsistencies in the use of health IT to support coordination of care.

"Even among practices having a strong commitment to the medical home model, the use of health IT to support care coordination objectives is not consistent," the authors conclude. "Health IT capabilities are not currently aligned with clinicians' priorities. Many practices will need financial and technical assistance for health IT to enhance care coordination."