Automated Lab Test Follow-up to Reduce Medical Errors
Grant Number:
R03HS011711
Principal Investigator(s):
David S. Greenes, Boston Children's Hospital
Grant Period:
September 30, 2002 – September 29, 2004
Goals/Purpose:
The focus of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerized system, called the Automated Late-Arriving Results Monitoring System (ALARMS), in a pediatric emergency department (ED).
Specific Aims:
- Evaluate the accuracy of Automated Late-Arriving Results Monitoring System (ALARMS) for identifying all late-arriving abnormal laboratory results, as compared to a manual review by researchers as the criterion standard.
- Evaluate the current rate of appropriate follow-up for late-arriving test results in the emergency department by running the ALARMS system in the background, without making its output available to clinicians.
- Introduce ALARMS for clinical use.
- Measure some costs of using ALARMS, specifically, the time spent by clinicians addressing lab results that do not require follow-up.
