Top ten challenges when interfacing a laboratory information system to an electronic health record: Experience at a large academic medical center

A systematic literature review on unnecessary diagnostic testing: The role of ICT use

BACKGROUND

The negative impact of unnecessary diagnostic tests on healthcare systems and patients has been widely recognized. Medical researchers in various countries have been devoting effort to reduce unnecessary diagnostic tests by using different types of interventions, including information and communications technology-based (ICT-based) intervention, educational intervention, audit and feedback, the introduction of guidelines or protocols, and the reward and punishment of staff. We conducted a review of ICT based interventions and a comparative analysis of their relative effectiveness in reducing unnecessary tests.

METHOD

A systematic Boolean search in PubMed, EMBase and EBSCOhost research databases was performed. Keyword search and citation analysis were also conducted. Empirical studies reporting ICT based interventions, and their implications on relative effectiveness in reducing unnecessary diagnostic tests (pathology tests or medical imaging) were evaluated independently by two reviewers based on a rigorously developed coding protocol.

RESULTS

92 research articles from peer-reviewed journals were identified as eligible. 47 studies involved a single-method intervention and 45 involved multi-method interventions. Regardless of the number of interventions involved in the studies, ICT-based interventions were utilized by 71 studies and 59 of them were shown to be effective in reducing unnecessary testing. A clinical decision support (CDS) tool appeared to be the most adopted ICT approach, with 46 out of 71 studies using CDS tools. The CDS tool showed effectiveness in reducing test volume in 38 studies and reducing cost in 24 studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This review investigated five frequently utilized intervention methods, ICT-based, education, introduction of guidelines or protocols, audit and feedback, and reward and punishment. It provides in-depth analysis of the efficacy of different types of interventions and sheds insights about the benefits of ICT based interventions, especially those utilising CDS tools, to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testing. The replicability of the studies is limited due to the heterogeneity of the studies in terms of context, study design, and targeted types of tests.

Pathologist Opinions about EPIC Beaker AP: a Multi-Institutional Survey of Early Adopters

EPIC Systems Corporation provides a widely used electronic medical record. Beaker Anatomic Pathology is a newly developed laboratory information system (LIS) that has been implemented at a small number of academic pathology departments. Pathologist opinions of EPIC Beaker AP have not been well described in the literature. A 37-question survey was administered to pathologists and pathology trainees to assess overall satisfaction and efficiency of report generation using Beaker AP. Data about experience in pathology, signout responsibilities, Beaker AP usage, and the legacy LIS was also collected. Seventy-four pathologists (51 faculty, 23 residents) responded to the survey (overall response rate 29.7%). Overall pathologist satisfaction with Beaker AP showed high inter-institutional variability; institutions with legacy LISs with a graphical interface had a generally neutral to negative assessment of Beaker AP. The majority of respondents disagreed with the statement "Beaker AP is easy to use and designed for my needs". Pathologists felt that Beaker AP was useful for reviewing clinical information and billing; areas of weakness included searching for prior cases and grossing efficiency. Overall, pathologists had a neutral opinion of whether generating and signing out a complete report was faster in Beaker AP, with marked inter-institutional variation. This variability was likely due to a combination of the efficacy of the legacy LIS, familiarity with Beaker AP at the time of the survey, and institution-specific optimization efforts.

Empowering genomic medicine by establishing critical sequencing result data flows: the eMERGE example

The eMERGE Network is establishing methods for electronic transmittal of patient genetic test results from laboratories to healthcare providers across organizational boundaries. We surveyed the capabilities and needs of different network participants, established a common transfer format, and implemented transfer mechanisms based on this format. The interfaces we created are examples of the connectivity that must be instantiated before electronic genetic and genomic clinical decision support can be effectively built at the point of care. This work serves as a case example for both standards bodies and other organizations working to build the infrastructure required to provide better electronic clinical decision support for clinicians.

Decision Support Tools within the Electronic Health Record

Laboratory tests are an integral part of the electronic health record (EHR). Providing clinical decision support (CDS) for the ordering, collection, reporting, viewing, and interpretation of laboratory testing is a fundamental function of the EHR. The implementation of a sustainable, effective laboratory CDS program requires a commitment to standardization and harmonization of the laboratory dictionaries that are the foundation of laboratory-based CDS. In this review, the authors provide an overview of the tools available within the EHR to improve decision making throughout the entire laboratory testing process, from test order to clinical action.

Recent Advancement of Clinical Information Systems: Opportunities and Challenges

Objectives:  Clinical information systems (CISs) have generated opportunities for meaningful improvements both in patient care and workflow but there is still a long way to perfection. Healthcare providers are still facing challenges of data exchange, management, and integration due to lack of functionality among these systems. Our objective here is to systematically review, synthesize, and summarize the literature that describes the current stage of clinical information systems, so as to assess the current state of knowledge, and identify benefits and challenges.

Methods:  PubMed, EMBASE, and the bibliographies of articles were searched for studies published until September 1, 2017, which reported on significant advancement of clinical information systems, as well as problems and opportunities in this field. Studies providing the most detailed information were included and the others were kept only as references.

Results:  We selected 23 papers out of 1,026 unique abstracts for full-text review using our selection criteria, and 20 out of these 23 studies met all of our inclusion criteria. We focused on three major areas: 1) Ambulatory and inpatients clinical information systems; 2) Specialty information systems; and 3) Ancillary information systems. As CIS can support evidence-based practices that, in turn, improve patient's safety, quality and efficacy of care, advancement, acceptability, and adaptability of CIS have increased worldwide. Although, the demand for CIS functionality is rising fast, current CISs still have data integration challenges and lack of functionality to exchange patient information from all or some parts of the healthcare system. These limitations can be attributed to technical, human, and organizational factors

Conclusion:  Clinical information systems provide tremendous opportunities to reduce clinical errors such as medication errors and diagnostic errors and to support healthcare professionals by offering up-to-date patient information. They promise to improve workflow and efficiency of care, thus boosting the overall quality of healthcare.