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Friedemann Smith C, Duncombe S, Fleming S, Hirst Y, Black GB, Bankhead C, Nicholson BD. Electronic safety-netting tool features considered important by UK general practice staff: an interview and Delphi consensus study. BJGP Open 2023; 7:BJGPO.2022.0163. [PMID: 37277171 PMCID: PMC10646209 DOI: 10.3399/bjgpo.2022.0163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The potential of the electronic health record to support safety netting has been recognised and a number of electronic safety-netting (E-SN) tools developed. AIM To establish the most important features of E-SN tools. DESIGN & SETTING User-experience interviews followed by a Delphi study in a primary care setting in the UK. METHOD The user-experience interviews were carried out remotely with primary care staff who had trialled the EMIS E-SN toolkit for suspected cancer. An electronic modified Delphi approach was used, with primary care staff involved in safety netting in any capacity, to measure consensus on tool features. RESULTS Thirteen user-experience interviews were carried out and features of E-SN tools seen as important formed the majority of the features included in the Delphi study. Three rounds of Delphi survey were administered. Sixteen responders (64%) completed all three rounds, and 28 out of 44 (64%) features reached consensus. Primary care staff preferred tools that were general in scope. CONCLUSION Primary care staff indicated that tools that were not specific to cancer or any other disease, and had features that promoted their flexible, efficient, and integrated use, were important. However, when the important features were discussed with the patient and public involvement (PPI) group, they expressed disappointment that features they believed would make E-SN tools robust and provide a safety net that is difficult to fall through did not reach consensus. The successful adoption of E-SN tools will rely on an evidence base of their effectiveness. Efforts should be made to assess the impact of these tools on patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Susannah Fleming
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Yasemin Hirst
- Institute of Epidemiology & Health, University College London, Lancaster Medical School, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Georgia Bell Black
- Wolfson Institute of population Health, Queen Mary's University, London, UK
| | - Clare Bankhead
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Brian D Nicholson
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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2
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Pichardo-Lowden AR, Haidet P, Umpierrez GE, Lehman EB, Quigley FT, Wang L, Rafferty CM, DeFlitch CJ, Chinchilli VM. Clinical Decision Support for Glycemic Management Reduces Hospital Length of Stay. Diabetes Care 2022; 45:2526-2534. [PMID: 36084251 PMCID: PMC9679255 DOI: 10.2337/dc21-0829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Dysglycemia influences hospital outcomes and resource utilization. Clinical decision support (CDS) holds promise for optimizing care by overcoming management barriers. This study assessed the impact on hospital length of stay (LOS) of an alert-based CDS tool in the electronic medical record that detected dysglycemia or inappropriate insulin use, coined as gaps in care (GIC). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Using a 12-month interrupted time series among hospitalized persons aged ≥18 years, our CDS tool identified GIC and, when active, provided recommendations. We compared LOS during 6-month-long active and inactive periods using linear models for repeated measures, multiple comparison adjustment, and mediation analysis. RESULTS Among 4,788 admissions with GIC, average LOS was shorter during the tool's active periods. LOS reductions occurred for all admissions with GIC (-5.7 h, P = 0.057), diabetes and hyperglycemia (-6.4 h, P = 0.054), stress hyperglycemia (-31.0 h, P = 0.054), patients admitted to medical services (-8.4 h, P = 0.039), and recurrent hypoglycemia (-29.1 h, P = 0.074). Subgroup analysis showed significantly shorter LOS in recurrent hypoglycemia with three events (-82.3 h, P = 0.006) and nonsignificant in two (-5.2 h, P = 0.655) and four or more (-14.8 h, P = 0.746). Among 22,395 admissions with GIC (4,788, 21%) and without GIC (17,607, 79%), LOS reduction during the active period was 1.8 h (P = 0.053). When recommendations were provided, the active tool indirectly and significantly contributed to shortening LOS through its influence on GIC events during admissions with at least one GIC (P = 0.027), diabetes and hyperglycemia (P = 0.028), and medical services (P = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS Use of the alert-based CDS tool to address inpatient management of dysglycemia contributed to reducing LOS, which may reduce costs and improve patient well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariana R. Pichardo-Lowden
- Department of Medicine, Penn State Health, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
| | - Paul Haidet
- Department of Medicine, Penn State Health, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
- Department of Humanities and the Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
| | | | - Erik B. Lehman
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
| | - Francis T. Quigley
- Department of Medicine, Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center, Reading, PA
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
| | - Colleen M. Rafferty
- Department of Medicine, Penn State Health, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
| | - Christopher J. DeFlitch
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Office of the Chief Medical Information Officer, Penn State Health, Hershey, PA
| | - Vernon M. Chinchilli
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
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3
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Zimolzak AJ, Shahid U, Giardina TD, Memon SA, Mushtaq U, Zubkoff L, Murphy DR, Bradford A, Singh H. Why Test Results Are Still Getting "Lost" to Follow-up: a Qualitative Study of Implementation Gaps. J Gen Intern Med 2022; 37:137-144. [PMID: 33907982 PMCID: PMC8739406 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-06772-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lack of timely follow-up of abnormal test results is common and has been implicated in missed or delayed diagnosis, resulting in potential for patient harm. OBJECTIVE As part of a larger project to implement change strategies to improve follow-up of diagnostic test results, this study sought to identify specifically where implementation gaps exist, as well as possible solutions identified by front-line staff. DESIGN We used a semi-structured interview guide to collect qualitative data from Veterans Affairs (VA) facility staff who had experience with test results management and patient safety. SETTING Twelve VA facilities across the USA. PARTICIPANTS Facility staff members (n = 27), including clinicians, lab and imaging professionals, nursing staff, patient safety professionals, and leadership. APPROACH We conducted a content analysis of interview transcripts to identify perceived barriers and high-risk areas for effective test result management, as well as recommendations for improvement. RESULTS We identified seven themes to guide further development of interventions to improve test result follow-up. Themes related to trainees, incidental findings, tracking systems for electronic health record notifications, outdated contact information, referrals, backup or covering providers, and responsibility for test results pending at discharge. Participants provided recommendations for improvement within each theme. CONCLUSIONS Perceived barriers and recommendations for improving test result follow-up often reflected previously known problems and their corresponding solutions, which have not been consistently implemented in practice. Better policy solutions and improvement methods, such as quality improvement collaboratives, may bridge the implementation gaps between knowledge and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Zimolzak
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Umber Shahid
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Traber D Giardina
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sahar A Memon
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Umair Mushtaq
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Lisa Zubkoff
- Birmingham/Atlanta VA GRECC, and Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Daniel R Murphy
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Andrea Bradford
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard 152, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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4
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Koh D, Wee T, Fong M, Tan X, Tan R, Menon S, Goh J, Teo S, Chia J, Kristanto W, Lim GH. Improving Results Management Processes in an Acute Hospital Using a Multi-Faceted Approach. Int J Qual Health Care 2021; 34:6485219. [PMID: 34962273 DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzab158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radiological examinations and laboratory tests are routinely ordered by hospital physicians as part of the care plan to diagnose and treat patients. However, the failure to actively review and follow-up on these results pose a significant problem to patient safety. A study team was formed to mitigate the clinical risks of poor results management, which was identified as a top clinical risk in our organisation, in order to make improvements to the results management process and to ensure the timely review, acknowledgement, and follow-up of test results. METHODS The institutional expectations of results management were set and published as a hospital policy, which was communicated to all clinical departments for compliance. Improvements to the electronic medical records system were made to facilitate the results acknowledgement process, and physicians were engaged to educate them on the importance of results management. RESULTS The study team observed a decrease in unacknowledged results from approximately 16,000 in March 2017 to 2673 in December 2020. The compliance rate for acknowledgement results increased from a monthly average of 83.7% (from March to December 2017) to a monthly average of 99.3% (in 2020). The risk score for results management decreased from 16 to 6.5, and was excluded from the organisation's top clinical risks. CONCLUSION This study showed the importance of both system improvements and culture changes that are required to improve the process of results management, and provides a step forward for the hospital to safeguard patient safety and mitigate clinical risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darrel Koh
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Tracy Wee
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Michelle Fong
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Xiaohui Tan
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Rudyanna Tan
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Shalini Menon
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Joey Goh
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Stephanie Teo
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Joanna Chia
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - William Kristanto
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Ghee Hian Lim
- Department of Medical Affairs, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, JurongHealth Campus, A member of National University Health System, Singapore
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5
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Li J, Paoloni R, Li L, Callen J, Westbrook JI, Runciman WB, Georgiou A. Does health information technology improve acknowledgement of radiology results for discharged Emergency Department patients? A before and after study. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2020; 20:100. [PMID: 32493463 PMCID: PMC7268495 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-020-01135-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The inadequate follow-up of test results is a key patient safety concern, carrying severe consequences for care outcomes. Patients discharged from the emergency department are at particular risk of having test results pending at discharge due to their short lengths of stay, with many hospitals acknowledging that they do not have reliable systems for managing such results. Health information technology hold the potential to reducing errors in the test result management process. This study aimed to measure changes in the proportion of acknowledged radiology reports pre and post introduction of an electronic result acknowledgement system and to determine the proportion of reports with abnormal results, including clinically significant abnormal results requiring follow-up action. Methods A before and after study was conducted in the emergency department of a 450-bed metropolitan teaching hospital in Australia. All radiology reports for discharged patients for a one-month period before and after implementation of the electronic result acknowledgement system were reviewed to determine; i) those that reported abnormal results; ii) evidence of test result acknowledgement. All unacknowledged radiology results with an abnormal finding were assessed by an independent panel of two senior emergency physicians for clinical significance. Results Of 1654 radiology reports in the pre-implementation period 70.6% (n = 1167) had documented evidence of acknowledgement by a clinician. For reports with abnormal results, 71.6% (n = 396) were acknowledged. Of 157 unacknowledged abnormal radiology reports reviewed by an independent emergency physician panel, 34.4% (n = 54) were identified as clinically significant and 50% of these (n = 27) were deemed to carry a moderate likelihood of patient morbidity if not followed up. Electronic acknowledgement occurred for all radiology reports in the post period (n = 1423), representing a 30.4% (95% CI: 28.1–32.6%) increase in acknowledgement rate, and an increase of 28.4% (95% CI: 24.6–32.2%) for abnormal radiology results. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of health information technology to improve the safety and effectiveness of the diagnostic process by increasing the rate of follow up of results pending at hospital discharge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Li
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
| | - Richard Paoloni
- Emergency Department, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Ling Li
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Joanne Callen
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Johanna I Westbrook
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - William B Runciman
- Australian Centre for Precision Health, Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.,Australian Patient Safety Foundation, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Andrew Georgiou
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
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6
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Singh H, Sittig DF. A Sociotechnical Framework for Safety-Related Electronic Health Record Research Reporting: The SAFER Reporting Framework. Ann Intern Med 2020; 172:S92-S100. [PMID: 32479184 DOI: 10.7326/m19-0879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Electronic health record (EHR)-based interventions to improve patient safety are complex and sensitive to who, what, where, why, when, and how they are delivered. Success or failure depends not only on the characteristics and behaviors of individuals who are targeted by an intervention, but also on the technical characteristics of the intervention and the culture and environment of the health system that implements it. Current reporting guidelines do not capture the complexity of sociotechnical factors (technical and nontechnical factors, such as workflow and organizational issues) that confound or influence these interventions. This article proposes a methodological reporting framework for EHR interventions targeting patient safety and builds on an 8-dimension sociotechnical model previously developed by the authors for design, development, implementation, use, and evaluation of health information technology. The Safety-related EHR Research (SAFER) Reporting Framework enables reporting of patient safety-focused EHR-based interventions while accounting for the multifaceted, dynamic sociotechnical context affecting intervention implementation, effectiveness, and generalizability. As an example, an EHR-based intervention to improve communication and timely follow-up of subcritical abnormal test results to operationalize the framework is presented. For each dimension, reporting should include what sociotechnical changes were made to implement an EHR-related intervention to improve patient safety, why the intervention did or did not lead to safety improvements, and how this intervention can be applied or exported to other health care organizations. A foundational list of research and reporting recommendations to address implementation, effectiveness, and generalizability of EHR-based interventions needed to effectively reduce preventable patient harm is provided. The SAFER Reporting Framework is not meant to replace previous research reporting guidelines, but rather provides a sociotechnical adjunct that complements their use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hardeep Singh
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas (H.S.)
| | - Dean F Sittig
- University of Texas Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality & Safety, School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas (D.F.S.)
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7
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Campione JR, Mardon RE, McDonald KM. Patient Safety Culture, Health Information Technology Implementation, and Medical Office Problems That Could Lead to Diagnostic Error. J Patient Saf 2020; 15:267-273. [PMID: 30138158 DOI: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment or by leading to unnecessary or harmful treatment. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between patient safety culture, health information technology (IT) implementation, and the frequency of problems that could lead to diagnostic errors in the medical office setting, such as unavailable test results, unavailable medical records, or unpursued abnormal results. METHODS We used survey data from 925 medical offices nationwide that voluntarily submitted results to the 2012 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Medical Office Surveys on Patient Safety Culture database. At the office level, we ran a multivariate regression model to estimate the effect of culture on problem frequency while controlling for office-reported implementation levels of health IT, office characteristics such as the number of locations, and survey characteristics such as the percent of respondents that were physicians. RESULTS The most frequent problem was "results from a lab or imaging test were not available when needed"; across 925 offices, the average was 15% reporting that it happened daily or weekly. Higher overall culture scores were significantly associated with fewer occurrences of each problem assessed. Compared with offices with completed health IT implementation, offices in the process of health IT implementation had higher frequency of problems. CONCLUSIONS This study offers insight into how patient safety culture and health IT implementation in medical offices can influence the frequency of breakdowns in processes of care, thereby identifying potential vulnerabilities that can increase diagnostic errors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kathryn M McDonald
- Center for Health Policy and the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California
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Project RedDE: Cluster Randomized Trial to Reduce Missed or Delayed Abnormal Laboratory Value Actions. Pediatr Qual Saf 2019; 4:e218. [PMID: 31745521 PMCID: PMC6805103 DOI: 10.1097/pq9.0000000000000218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Failure of timely abnormal laboratory result follow-up is relatively common and may lead to harm. This study hypothesized that a quality improvement collaborative (QIC) could reduce the frequency of missed or delayed action on abnormal laboratory values.
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Alore EA, Suliburk JW, Ramsey DJ, Massarweh NN, Balentine CJ, Singh H, Awad SS, Makris KI. Diagnosis and Management of Primary Hyperparathyroidism Across the Veterans Affairs Health Care System. JAMA Intern Med 2019; 179:1220-1227. [PMID: 31305864 PMCID: PMC6632180 DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.1747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Untreated primary hyperparathyroidism impairs quality of life and incurs substantial costs. Parathyroidectomy is a low-risk, high-success, definitive intervention. OBJECTIVES To determine the appropriateness of diagnostic evaluation for primary hyperparathyroidism in patients with hypercalcemia and the use of parathyroidectomy for the treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism across the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A retrospective cohort study of veterans with hypercalcemia and primary hyperparathyroidism was conducted from January 1, 2000, through September 30, 2015, using the VA Corporate Data Warehouse, a national electronic health record-based repository. The study included 371 370 veterans with chronic hypercalcemia and 47 158 veterans with biochemical evidence of primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosed by hypercalcemia, elevated serum parathyroid hormone levels, and near-normal serum creatinine levels. Statistical analysis was performed from April 21, 2017, to April 10, 2019. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The proportion of veterans with hypercalcemia who have parathyroid hormone levels evaluated, the proportion of veterans with hyperparathyroidism who are treated surgically, and the factors associated with parathyroidectomy using generalized linear latent and mixed model regression. RESULTS Of 371 370 patients with chronic hypercalcemia, 86 887 (23.4%) received further testing with parathyroid hormone level. Of 47 158 patients meeting diagnostic criteria for primary hyperparathyroidism (42 737 men [90.6%] and 4421 women [9.4%]; mean [SD] age, 67.3 [11.8] years), 6048 (12.8%) underwent parathyroidectomy. Of 5793 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism presenting with a serum calcium level more than 1 mg/dL above the upper limit of normal, 1501 (25.9%) underwent parathyroidectomy. There was a decreasing trend in the use of parathyroidectomy over time. Factors positively associated with parathyroidectomy were nephrolithiasis (odds ratio [OR], 2.23; 95% CI, 1.90-2.61) and non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.17-1.46), while age (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.95-0.96), Elixhauser Comorbidity Index score (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.72-0.80), decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.45-0.60), and diagnosis of osteoporosis (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.52-0.80) were inversely related to surgery. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE From this study's findings, parathyroid hormone level is infrequently tested in patients with hypercalcemia, suggesting underdiagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism. Patients meeting diagnostic criteria for primary hyperparathyroidism are undertreated with recommended parathyroidectomy. Similar gaps have previously been observed in non-VA care of primary hyperparathyroidism, suggesting the need for a systematic evaluation of barriers to diagnosis and treatment that informs intervention design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Alore
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - James W Suliburk
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.,Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, Houston, Texas
| | - David J Ramsey
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, Houston, Texas
| | - Nader N Massarweh
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.,Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, Houston, Texas.,Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Courtney J Balentine
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas.,Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System, Dallas
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, Houston, Texas.,Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas.,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Samir S Awad
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.,Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Konstantinos I Makris
- Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.,Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, Houston, Texas.,Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas
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10
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Blease CR, Bell SK. Patients as diagnostic collaborators: sharing visit notes to promote accuracy and safety. Diagnosis (Berl) 2019; 6:213-221. [DOI: 10.1515/dx-2018-0106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Error resulting from missed, delayed, or wrong diagnoses is estimated to occur in 10–15% of ambulatory and inpatient encounters, leading to serious harm in around half of such cases. When it comes to conceptualizing diagnostic error, most research has focused on factors pertaining to: (a) physician cognition and (b) ergonomic or systems factors related to the physician’s working environment. A third factor – the role of patients in diagnostic processes – remains relatively under-investigated. Yet, as a growing number of researchers acknowledge, patients hold unique knowledge about themselves and their healthcare experience, and may be the most underutilized resource for mitigating diagnostic error. This opinion article examines recent findings from patient surveys about sharing visit notes with patients online. Drawing on these survey results, we suggest three ways in which sharing visit notes with patients might enhance diagnostic processes: (1) avoid delays and missed diagnoses by enhancing timely follow up of recommended tests, results, and referrals; (2) identify documentation errors that may undermine diagnostic accuracy; and (3) strengthen patient-clinician relationships thereby creating stronger bidirectional diagnostic partnerships. We also consider the potential pitfalls or unintended consequences of note transparency, and highlight areas in need of further research.
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11
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Murphy DR, Satterly T, Rogith D, Sittig DF, Singh H. Barriers and facilitators impacting reliability of the electronic health record-facilitated total testing process. Int J Med Inform 2019; 127:102-108. [PMID: 31128821 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite ongoing efforts to improve reliability of the total testing process (TTP), breakdowns continue to occur resulting in diagnostic delays and suboptimal patient outcomes. We performed an exploratory study to identify factors that impact TTP reliability in electronic health record (EHR)-enabled care. MATERIALS AND METHODS We interviewed experts at three large EHR-enabled health care organizations and identified all TTP steps performed from clinician test ordering to result communication to patients. Findings from all sites were combined to develop a detailed process map of known TTP activities. We additionally asked experts about factors that positively or negatively impacted TTP reliability at each step. We describe the specific TTP steps identified and associated barriers and facilitators to TTP reliability. RESULTS We interviewed 39 experts involved in or overseeing the TTP. Most TTP activities identified were similar across sites, but we found significant differences with test order transmission to diagnostic services and relay of results back to clinicians and patients. Twenty-five unique barriers were identified related to technology and EHR usability issues, time and resource constraints, suboptimal clinic workflows, patient-related factors, information access limitations, and insufficient clinician training. Twenty-four unique facilitators were identified related to personnel training, workflow optimization and standardization, helpful EHR features, and improved electronic communication between clinics and diagnostic services. DISCUSSION Barriers related to EHR usability and with communication between clinicians and diagnostic services increase TTP vulnerability and should be targeted by future efforts to improve process reliability. Several facilitators identified in the study could inform future strategies and solutions to improve TTP reliability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Murphy
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.
| | - Tyler Satterly
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Deevakar Rogith
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's School of Biomedical Informatics, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Dean F Sittig
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's School of Biomedical Informatics, Houston, TX, United States; The UT-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality & Safety, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
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Wolfe L, Chisolm MS, Bohsali F. Clinically Excellent Use of the Electronic Health Record: Review. JMIR Hum Factors 2018; 5:e10426. [PMID: 30291099 PMCID: PMC6231887 DOI: 10.2196/10426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The transition to the electronic health record (EHR) has brought forth a rapid cultural shift in the world of medicine, presenting both new challenges as well as opportunities for improving health care. As clinicians work to adapt to the changes imposed by the EHR, identification of best practices around the clinically excellent use of the EHR is needed. OBJECTIVE Using the domains of clinical excellence previously defined by the Johns Hopkins Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, this review aims to identify best practices around the clinically excellent use of the EHR. METHODS The authors searched the PubMed database, using keywords related to clinical excellence domains and the EHR, to capture the English-language, peer-reviewed literature published between January 1, 2000, and August 2, 2016. One author independently reviewed each article and extracted relevant data. RESULTS The search identified 606 titles, with the majority (393/606, 64.9%) in the domain of communication and interpersonal skills. Twenty-eight of the 606 (4.6%) titles were excluded from full-text review, primarily due to lack of availability of the full-text article. The remaining 578 full-text articles reviewed were related to clinical excellence generally (3/578, 0.5%) or the specific domains of communication and interpersonal skills (380/578, 65.7%), diagnostic acumen (31/578, 5.4%), skillful negotiation of the health care system (4/578, 0.7%), scholarly approach to clinical practice (41/578, 7.1%), professionalism and humanism (2/578, 0.4%), knowledge (97/578, 16.8%), and passion for clinical medicine (20/578, 3.5%). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that as familiarity and expertise are developed, clinicians are leveraging the EHR to provide clinically excellent care. Best practices identified included deliberate physical configuration of the clinical space to involve sharing the screen with patients and limiting EHR use during difficult and emotional topics. Promising horizons for the EHR include the ability to augment participation in pragmatic trials, identify adverse drug effects, correlate genomic data to clinical outcomes, and follow data-driven guidelines. Clinician and patient satisfaction with the EHR has generally improved with time, and hopefully continued clinician, and patient input will lead to a system that satisfies all.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah Wolfe
- Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Margaret Smith Chisolm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Fuad Bohsali
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
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Ai A, Desai S, Shellman A, Wright A. Understanding Test Results Follow-Up in the Ambulatory Setting: Analysis of Multiple Perspectives. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2018; 44:674-682. [PMID: 30122520 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2018.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Delayed or incomplete test result follow-up, which can lead to missed and/or delayed diagnosis, is an important issue in the ambulatory setting. Delayed test result follow-up has been linked to poorer patient outcomes and increased risk of mortality and accounts for a large portion of medical malpractice claims. Yet improvements are difficult, reflecting the complexity of the test result follow-up process. Test result follow-up safety culture was investigated using qualitative and quantitative patient safety and quality of care data at an academic medical center. METHODS After an environmental scan, five sources of data were used to compass multiple perspectives on safety culture-two national surveys (AHRQ MO SOPS for safety culture and CG-CAHPS for patient satisfaction); patient and family complaints; safety reports; and provider response times to test message results in the electronic health record. RESULTS The following metrics were inspected: how patients and providers estimated the frequency for providing timely test results; how patients' satisfaction with their provider correlated with their provider's response time to test result messages; and qualitative themes in patient complaints and safety reports filed by clinic. The institution was compared to national benchmarks using surveys. As test result response time decreased, patient satisfaction increased (p = 0.0073). CONCLUSION Test result follow-up culture was investigated using tools typically used to examine patient satisfaction and experience and staff culture. Use of these five sources of data led to an examination of multiple perspectives in follow-up culture and identification of possible explanations for inappropriate follow-up. These data sources can be further explored to identify possible solutions.
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Dalal AK, Schaffer A, Gershanik EF, Papanna R, Eibensteiner K, Nolido NV, Yoon CS, Williams D, Lipsitz SR, Roy CL, Schnipper JL. The Impact of Automated Notification on Follow-up of Actionable Tests Pending at Discharge: a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. J Gen Intern Med 2018; 33:1043-1051. [PMID: 29532297 PMCID: PMC6025668 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-018-4393-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Follow-up of tests pending at discharge (TPADs) is poor. We previously demonstrated a twofold increase in awareness of any TPAD by attendings and primary care physicians (PCPs) using an automated email intervention OBJECTIVE: To determine whether automated notification improves documented follow-up for actionable TPADs DESIGN: Cluster-randomized controlled trial SUBJECTS: Attendings and PCPs caring for adult patients discharged from general medicine and cardiology services with at least one actionable TPAD between June 2011 and May 2012 INTERVENTION: An automated system that notifies discharging attendings and network PCPs of finalized TPADs by email MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of actionable TPADs with documented action determined by independent physician review of the electronic health record (EHR). Secondary outcomes included documented acknowledgment, 30-day readmissions, and adjusted median days to documented follow-up. KEY RESULTS Of the 3378 TPADs sampled, 253 (7.5%) were determined to be actionable by physician review. Of these, 150 (123 patients discharged by 53 attendings) and 103 (90 patients discharged by 44 attendings) were assigned to intervention and usual care groups, respectively, and underwent chart review. The proportion of actionable TPADs with documented action was 60.7 vs. 56.3% (p = 0.82) in the intervention vs. usual care groups, similar for documented acknowledgment. The proportion of patients with actionable TPADs readmitted within 30 days was 22.8 vs. 31.1% in the intervention vs. usual care groups (p = 0.24). The adjusted median days [95% CI] to documented action was 9 [6.2, 11.8] vs. 14 [10.2, 17.8] (p = 0.04) in the intervention vs. usual care groups, similar for documented acknowledgment. In sub-group analysis, the intervention had greater impact on documented action for patients with network PCPs compared with usual care (70 vs. 50%, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Automated notification of actionable TPADs shortened time to action but did not significantly improve documented follow-up, except for network-affiliated patients. The high proportion of actionable TPADs without any documented follow-up (~ 40%) represents an ongoing safety concern. CLINICAL TRIALS IDENTIFIER NCT01153451.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuj K Dalal
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Adam Schaffer
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- CRICO/Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Esteban F Gershanik
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ranganath Papanna
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Katyuska Eibensteiner
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nyryan V Nolido
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cathy S Yoon
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Deborah Williams
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Partners HealthCare, Inc., Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stuart R Lipsitz
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher L Roy
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Schnipper
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Hospital Medicine Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Capsule Commentary on Dalal et al., The Impact of Automated Notification on Follow-up of Actionable Tests Pending at Discharge: a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. J Gen Intern Med 2018; 33:1139. [PMID: 29667087 PMCID: PMC6025648 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-018-4438-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Primary Care Providers' Opening of Time-Sensitive Alerts Sent to Commercial Electronic Health Record InBaskets. J Gen Intern Med 2017; 32:1210-1219. [PMID: 28808942 PMCID: PMC5653559 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-017-4146-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2017] [Revised: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Time-sensitive alerts are among the many types of clinical notifications delivered to physicians' secure InBaskets within commercial electronic health records (EHRs). A delayed alert review can impact patient safety and compromise care. OBJECTIVE To characterize factors associated with opening of non-interruptive time-sensitive alerts delivered into primary care provider (PCP) InBaskets. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS We analyzed data for 799 automated alerts. Alerts highlighted actionable medication concerns for older patients post-hospital discharge (2010-2011). These were study-generated alerts sent 3 days post-discharge to InBaskets for 75 PCPs across a multisite healthcare system, and represent a subset of all urgent InBasket notifications. MAIN MEASURES Using EHR access and audit logs to track alert opening, we performed bivariate and multivariate analyses calculating associations between patient characteristics, provider characteristics, contextual factors at the time of alert delivery (number of InBasket notifications, weekday), and alert opening within 24 h. KEY RESULTS At the time of alert delivery, the PCPs had a median of 69 InBasket notifications and had received a median of 379.8 notifications (IQR 295.0, 492.0) over the prior 7 days. Of the 799 alerts, 47.1% were opened within 24 h. Patients with longer hospital stays (>4 days) were marginally more likely to have alerts opened (OR 1.48 [95% CI 1.00-2.19]). Alerts delivered to PCPs whose InBaskets had a higher number of notifications at the time of alert delivery were significantly less likely to be opened within 24 h (top quartile >157 notifications: OR 0.34 [95% CI 0.18-0.61]; reference bottom quartile ≤42). Alerts delivered on Saturdays were also less likely to be opened within 24 h (OR 0.18 [CI 0.08-0.39]). CONCLUSIONS The number of total InBasket notifications and weekend delivery may impact the opening of time-sensitive EHR alerts. Further study is needed to support safe and effective approaches to care team management of InBasket notifications.
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Fedosov V, Dziadzko M, Dearani JA, Brown DR, Pickering BW, Herasevich V. Decision Support Tool to Improve Glucose Control Compliance After Cardiac Surgery. AACN Adv Crit Care 2017; 27:274-282. [PMID: 27959310 DOI: 10.4037/aacnacc2016634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Hyperglycemia control is associated with improved outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The Surgical Care Improvement Project metric (SCIP-inf-4) was introduced as a performance measure in surgical patients and included hyperglycemia control. Compliance with the SCIP-inf-4 metric remains suboptimal. A novel real-time decision support tool (DST) with guaranteed feedback that is based on the existing electronic medical record system was developed at a tertiary academic center. Implementation of the DST increased the compliance rate with the SCIP-inf-4 from 87.3% to 96.5%. Changes in tested clinical outcomes were not observed with improved metric compliance. This new framework can serve as a backbone for development of quality control processes for other metrics. Further and, ideally, multicenter studies are required to test if implementation of electronic DSTs will translate into improved resource utilization and outcomes for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitali Fedosov
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
| | - Mikhail Dziadzko
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
| | - Joseph A Dearani
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
| | - Daniel R Brown
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
| | - Brian W Pickering
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
| | - Vitaly Herasevich
- Vitali Fedosov is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Mikhail Dziadzko is Research Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Joseph A. Dearani is Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Daniel R. Brown is Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Brian W. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Vitaly Herasevich is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905
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Jung HY, Unruh MA, Vest JR, Casalino LP, Kern LM, Grinspan ZM, Bao Y, Kaushal R. Physician Participation in Meaningful Use and Quality of Care for Medicare Fee-for-Service Enrollees. J Am Geriatr Soc 2016; 65:608-613. [DOI: 10.1111/jgs.14704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hye-Young Jung
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Mark Aaron Unruh
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Joshua R. Vest
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Management; Indiana University; Indianapolis Indiana
| | - Lawrence P. Casalino
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Lisa M. Kern
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Zachary M. Grinspan
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Yuhua Bao
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Rainu Kaushal
- Department of Healthcare Policy and Research; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
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Rodriguez-Borja E, Villalba-Martinez C, Barba-Serrano E, Carratala-Calvo A. Failure to review STAT clinical laboratory requests and its economical impact. Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2016; 26:61-7. [PMID: 26981019 PMCID: PMC4783091 DOI: 10.11613/bm.2016.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Failure to follow-up laboratory test results has been described as one of the major processes contributing to unsafe patient care. Currently, most of the laboratories do not know with certainty not only their rate of missed (or unreviewed) requests but the economical cost and impact that this issue implies. The aim of our study was to measure that rate and calculate the resulting costs. Material and methods In January 2015, we checked in our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for every emergency request from 1st July 2011 to 30th June 2014, if they had been reviewed by any allowed user or not. 319,064 requests were ordered during that period of time. Results were expressed as “ordered requests”, “missed requests” and its percentage. Additionally, total cost of missed requests was calculated in euros (€). “Non-productive days” were theorised (as the days producing requests that were not reviewed) based on these results. Results 7924 requests (2.5%) were never reviewed by clinicians. This represented a total cost of 203,039 € and 27 “non-productive” days in three years. Significant differences between inpatients, outpatients and emergency department as well as different emergencies units were found after application of statistical analysis. Conclusions In terms of resources, never reviewed or missed requests appear to be a not negligible problem for the clinical laboratory management. Electronic result delivery, with electronic endorsement to indicate follow-up of requests along with better systems of electronic requesting should be investigated as a way of improving patient outcomes and save unnecessary expenses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Esther Barba-Serrano
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Hospital Clínico Universitario Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Barnett ML, Mehrotra A, Frolkis JP, Spinks M, Steiger C, Hehir B, Greenberg JO, Singh H. Implementation Science Workshop: Implementation of an Electronic Referral System in a Large Academic Medical Center. J Gen Intern Med 2016; 31:343-52. [PMID: 26556594 PMCID: PMC4762816 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-015-3516-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Barnett
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180A Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Ateev Mehrotra
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180A Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Joseph P Frolkis
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Casey Steiger
- Brigham and Women's Physicians Organization, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brandon Hehir
- Brigham and Women's Physicians Organization, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey O Greenberg
- Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Brigham and Women's Physicians Organization, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Houston Veterans Affairs Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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Callen J, Georgiou A, Li J, Westbrook JI. The Impact for Patient Outcomes of Failure to Follow Up on Test Results. How Can We Do Better? EJIFCC 2015; 26:38-46. [PMID: 27683480 PMCID: PMC4975222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The World Health Organization-World Alliance for Patient Safety has identified test result management as a priority area. Poor test result follow-up can have major consequences for the quality of care, including missed diagnoses and suboptimal patient outcomes. Over the last three decades there has been considerable growth in the number of requests for pathology and radiology services which has added to the complexity of how patient care is delivered and test results are managed. This can contribute to a lack of clarity about where and with whom responsibility for test follow-up should reside: a problem that is compounded by a lack of clear definitions about what are critical, unexpected or significantly abnormal results. AIM OF THIS PAPER This paper will present a narrative review highlighting key issues related to the problem of failure to follow up laboratory test results, and outline potential solutions. CONCLUSIONS Information technology (IT) has the potential to enhance the performance and safety of test result management processes. Effective solutions must engage all stakeholders, including consumers, in arriving at decisions about who needs to receive results, how and when they are communicated, and how they are acknowledged and acted upon and the documentation of these actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Callen
- Associate Professor, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research Australian Institute of Health Innovation Macquarie University Level 6, 75 Talavera Road Sydney, 2109 Australia
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Murphy DR, Singh H, Berlin L. Communication breakdowns and diagnostic errors: a radiology perspective. Diagnosis (Berl) 2014; 1:253-261. [PMID: 27006890 PMCID: PMC4799783 DOI: 10.1515/dx-2014-0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Timely and accurate communication is essential to safe and effective health care. Despite increased awareness over the past decade of the frequency of medical errors and greater efforts directed towards improving patient safety, patient harm due to communication breakdowns remains a significant problem. Communication problems related to diagnostic testing may account for nearly half of all errors made by typical primary care physicians in their medical practices. This article provides an overview of communication breakdowns in the context of radiology related diagnostic errors. In radiology, communication breakdowns between radiologists, referring clinicians, and patients can lead to failure of critical information to be relayed, resulting in delayed or missed diagnosis. New technologies, such electronic health records (EHRs), contribute to the increasing complexity of communication in health care, but if used correctly, they can provide several benefits to safe and effective communication. To address the complexity of communication breakdowns, a multifaceted sociotechnical approach is needed to address both technical and non-technical aspects of health care delivery. The article also provides some future directions in reducing communication breakdowns related to diagnostic testing, including proactive risk assessment of communication practices using recently released SAFER self-assessment guides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R. Murphy
- Houston VA Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Houston VA Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Leonard Berlin
- Skokie Hospital Dept of Radiology, Skokie, IL, USA; and Rush University and University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
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Menon S, Smith MW, Sittig DF, Petersen NJ, Hysong SJ, Espadas D, Modi V, Singh H. How context affects electronic health record-based test result follow-up: a mixed-methods evaluation. BMJ Open 2014; 4:e005985. [PMID: 25387758 PMCID: PMC4244393 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Electronic health record (EHR)-based alerts can facilitate transmission of test results to healthcare providers, helping ensure timely and appropriate follow-up. However, failure to follow-up on abnormal test results (missed test results) persists in EHR-enabled healthcare settings. We aimed to identify contextual factors associated with facility-level variation in missed test results within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Based on a previous survey, we categorised VA facilities according to primary care providers' (PCPs') perceptions of low (n=20) versus high (n=20) risk of missed test results. We interviewed facility representatives to collect data on several contextual factors derived from a sociotechnical conceptual model of safe and effective EHR use. We compared these factors between facilities categorised as low and high perceived risk, adjusting for structural characteristics. RESULTS Facilities with low perceived risk were significantly more likely to use specific strategies to prevent alerts from being lost to follow-up (p=0.0114). Qualitative analysis identified three high-risk scenarios for missed test results: alerts on tests ordered by trainees, alerts 'handed off' to another covering clinician (surrogate clinician), and alerts on patients not assigned in the EHR to a PCP. Test result management policies and procedures to address these high-risk situations varied considerably across facilities. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified several scenarios that pose a higher risk for missed test results in EHR-based healthcare systems. In addition to implementing provider-level strategies to prevent missed test results, healthcare organisations should consider implementing monitoring systems to track missed test results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailaja Menon
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Michael W Smith
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Dean F Sittig
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Nancy J Petersen
- University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics and the UT-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality & Safety, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Sylvia J Hysong
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Donna Espadas
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Varsha Modi
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
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Sittig DF, Singh H. A red-flag-based approach to risk management of EHR-related safety concerns. J Healthc Risk Manag 2014; 33:21-6. [PMID: 24078205 DOI: 10.1002/jhrm.21123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Although electronic health records (EHRs) have a significant potential to improve patient safety, EHR-related safety concerns have begun to emerge. Based on 369 responses to a survey sent to the memberships of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management and the American Health Lawyers Association and supplemented by our previous work in EHR-related patient safety, we identified the following common EHR-related safety concerns: (1) incorrect patient identification; (2) extended EHR unavailability (either planned or unplanned); (3) failure to heed a computer-generated warning or alert; (4) system-to-system interface errors; (5) failure to identify, find, or use the most recent patient data; (6) misunderstandings about time; (7) incorrect item selected from a list of items; and (8) open or incomplete orders. In this article, we present a "red-flag"-based approach that can be used by risk managers to identify potential EHR safety concerns in their institutions. An organization that routinely conducts EHR-related surveillance activities, such as the ones proposed here, can significantly reduce risks associated with EHR implementation and use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean F Sittig
- Co-Author of Improving Outcomes-A Practical Guide to Clinical Decision Support Implementation and Clinical Information Systems: Overcoming Adverse Consequences
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Meeks DW, Takian A, Sittig DF, Singh H, Barber N. Exploring the sociotechnical intersection of patient safety and electronic health record implementation. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2014; 21:e28-34. [PMID: 24052536 PMCID: PMC3957388 DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-001762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2013] [Revised: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The intersection of electronic health records (EHR) and patient safety is complex. To examine the applicability of two previously developed conceptual models comprehensively to understand safety implications of EHR implementation in the English National Health Service (NHS). METHODS We conducted a secondary analysis of interview data from a 30-month longitudinal, prospective, case study-based evaluation of EHR implementation in 12 NHS hospitals. We used a framework analysis approach to apply conceptual models developed by Sittig and Singh to understand better EHR implementation and use: an eight-dimension sociotechnical model and a three-phase patient safety model (safe technology, safe use of technology, and use of technology to improve safety). RESULTS The intersection of patient safety and EHR implementation and use was characterized by risks involving technology (hardware and software, clinical content, and human-computer interfaces), the interaction of technology with non-technological factors, and improper or unsafe use of technology. Our data support that patient safety improvement activities as well as patient safety hazards change as an organization evolves from concerns about safe EHR functionality, ensuring safe and appropriate EHR use, to using the EHR itself to provide ongoing surveillance and monitoring of patient safety. DISCUSSION We demonstrate the face validity of two models for understanding the sociotechnical aspects of safe EHR implementation and the complex interactions of technology within a healthcare system evolving from paper to integrated EHR. CONCLUSIONS Using sociotechnical models, including those presented in this paper, may be beneficial to help stakeholders understand, synthesize, and anticipate risks at the intersection of patient safety and health information technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek W Meeks
- Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Amirhossein Takian
- Division of Health Studies, School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
| | - Dean F Sittig
- University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics and UT-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality and Safety, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Houston VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Nick Barber
- Department of Practice and Policy, The UCL School of Pharmacy, London, UK
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Dalal AK, Roy CL, Poon EG, Williams DH, Nolido N, Yoon C, Budris J, Gandhi T, Bates DW, Schnipper JL. Impact of an automated email notification system for results of tests pending at discharge: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2013; 21:473-80. [PMID: 24154834 DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Physician awareness of the results of tests pending at discharge (TPADs) is poor. We developed an automated system that notifies responsible physicians of TPAD results via secure, network email. We sought to evaluate the impact of this system on self-reported awareness of TPAD results by responsible physicians, a necessary intermediary step to improve management of TPAD results. METHODS We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial at a major hospital affiliated with an integrated healthcare delivery network in Boston, Massachusetts. Adult patients with TPADs who were discharged from inpatient general medicine and cardiology services were assigned to the intervention or usual care arm if their inpatient attending physician and primary care physician (PCP) were both randomized to the same study arm. Patients of physicians randomized to discordant study arms were excluded. We surveyed these physicians 72 h after all TPAD results were finalized. The primary outcome was awareness of TPAD results by attending physicians. Secondary outcomes included awareness of TPAD results by PCPs, awareness of actionable TPAD results, and provider satisfaction. RESULTS We analyzed data on 441 patients. We sent 441 surveys to attending physicians and 353 surveys to PCPs and received 275 and 152 responses from 83 different attending physicians and 112 different PCPs, respectively (attending physician survey response rate of 63%). Intervention attending physicians and PCPs were significantly more aware of TPAD results (76% vs 38%, adjusted/clustered OR 6.30 (95% CI 3.02 to 13.16), p<0.001; 57% vs 33%, adjusted/clustered OR 3.08 (95% CI 1.43 to 6.66), p=0.004, respectively). Intervention attending physicians tended to be more aware of actionable TPAD results (59% vs 29%, adjusted/clustered OR 4.25 (0.65, 27.85), p=0.13). One hundred and eighteen (85%) and 43 (63%) intervention attending physician and PCP survey respondents, respectively, were satisfied with this intervention. CONCLUSIONS Automated email notification represents a promising strategy for managing TPAD results, potentially mitigating an unresolved patient safety concern. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01153451).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuj K Dalal
- Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine A. Sinsky
- Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans, 1000 Langworthy Dr., Dubuque, IA 52001 USA
| | - Thomas A. Sinsky
- Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans, 1000 Langworthy Dr., Dubuque, IA 52001 USA
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Singh H, Spitzmueller C, Petersen NJ, Sawhney MK, Smith MW, Murphy DR, Espadas D, Laxmisan A, Sittig DF. Primary care practitioners' views on test result management in EHR-enabled health systems: a national survey. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2012; 20:727-35. [PMID: 23268489 PMCID: PMC3721157 DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2012-001267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Context Failure to notify patients of test results is common even when electronic health records (EHRs) are used to report results to practitioners. We sought to understand the broad range of social and technical factors that affect test result management in an integrated EHR-based health system. Methods Between June and November 2010, we conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey of all primary care practitioners (PCPs) within the Department of Veterans Affairs nationwide. Survey development was guided by a socio-technical model describing multiple inter-related dimensions of EHR use. Findings Of 5001 PCPs invited, 2590 (51.8%) responded. 55.5% believed that the EHRs did not have convenient features for notifying patients of test results. Over a third (37.9%) reported having staff support needed for notifying patients of test results. Many relied on the patient's next visit to notify them for normal (46.1%) and abnormal results (20.1%). Only 45.7% reported receiving adequate training on using the EHR notification system and 35.1% reported having an assigned contact for technical assistance with the EHR; most received help from colleagues (60.4%). A majority (85.6%) stayed after hours or came in on weekends to address notifications; less than a third reported receiving protected time (30.1%). PCPs strongly endorsed several new features to improve test result management, including better tracking and visualization of result notifications. Conclusions Despite an advanced EHR, both social and technical challenges exist in ensuring notification of test results to practitioners and patients. Current EHR technology requires significant improvement in order to avoid similar challenges elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hardeep Singh
- Department of Medicine, Houston VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Section of Health Services Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
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