National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (4)
- Adverse Events (4)
- Cancer (1)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (2)
- Communication (1)
- Critical Care (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (2)
- (-) Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (19)
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- Health Information Technology (HIT) (18)
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- Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (3)
- Medical Errors (3)
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- Medication: Safety (5)
- (-) Patient Safety (19)
- Provider (2)
- Provider: Clinician (2)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 19 of 19 Research Studies DisplayedPacheco TB, Hettinger AZ, Ratwani RM
Identifying potential patient safety issues from the federal electronic health record surveillance program.
This research letter analyzed HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) surveillance data on electronic health records (EHRs) to determine whether these vendor products may potentially create patient harm. The researchers analyzed records from 195 vendors and identified 3.7% total product IDs having a nonconformity issue that could be a contributing factor to a patient harm event. However, it is unknown whether these IDs might actually result in patient harm.
AHRQ-funded; HS025136; HS023701.
Citation: Pacheco TB, Hettinger AZ, Ratwani RM .
Identifying potential patient safety issues from the federal electronic health record surveillance program.
JAMA 2019 Dec 17;322(23):2339-40. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.17242..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Lacson R, Gujrathi I, Healey M
Closing the loop on unscheduled diagnostic imaging orders: a systems-based approach.
This study looked at the impact of implementing a tool called SCORE (System for Coordinating Orders for Radiology Exams), whose objective is to manage unscheduled orders for outpatient diagnostic imaging in an electronic health record (EHR) with embedded computerized physician order entry. The rate of unscheduled imaging orders was compared before SCORE (October 2017 to September 2018) and after (October 2018 to June 2019). There was a 49% reduction in unscheduled orders after SCORE implementation at a large academic institution.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Lacson R, Gujrathi I, Healey M .
Closing the loop on unscheduled diagnostic imaging orders: a systems-based approach.
J Am Coll Radiol 2021 Jan;18(1 Pt A):60-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.09.031..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Kizzier-Carnahan V, Artis KA, Mohan V
Frequency of passive EHR alerts in the ICU: another form of alert fatigue?
The authors researched the impact of passive data alerts in the intensive care unit (ICU) on patient safety. They found that the average ICU patient generates a large number of passive alerts daily, many of which may be clinically irrelevant. Issues with Electronic Health Record design and use likely further magnified this problem. They concluded that their results established the need for additional studies to understand how a high burden of passive alerts impact clinical decision making and how to design passive alerts to optimize their clinical utility.
AHRQ-funded; HS023793; HS021637.
Citation: Kizzier-Carnahan V, Artis KA, Mohan V .
Frequency of passive EHR alerts in the ICU: another form of alert fatigue?
J Patient Saf 2019 Sep;15(3):246-50. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000270..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Patient Safety
Carayon P, Wetterneck TB, Cartmill R
Medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations.
This study examined the impact of electronic health record (EHR) implementation in two intensive care units (ICUs). The authors assessed 1254 consecutive admissions before and after an EHR implementation. They identified 4063 medication-related events either pre-implementation (2074 events) or post-implementation (1989 events). The overall potential for harm due to medication errors decreased post-implementation, but only 2 of the 3 error rates were significantly lower post-implementation. They observed reductions in rates of medication errors per admission at the stages of transcription, dispensing, and administration. In the ordering stage, 4 error types decreased post-implementation (orders with omitted information, error-prone abbreviations, illegible orders, failure to renew orders) and 4 error types increased post-implementation (orders of wrong drug, orders containing a wrong start or stop time, duplicate orders, orders with inappropriate or wrong information).
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083.
Citation: Carayon P, Wetterneck TB, Cartmill R .
Medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations.
J Patient Saf 2021 Aug 1;17(5):e429-e39. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000358.
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083..
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care, Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Bersani K, Fuller TE, Garabedian P
Use, perceived usability, and barriers to implementation of a patient safety dashboard integrated within a vendor EHR.
This study analyzed the use, perceived usability, and barriers to implementation of a patient safety dashboard integrated within a vendor electronic health record (EHR) system. The goal of this dashboard was to help improve compliance with evidence-based safety practices to prevent adverse events in the hospital. A Patient Safety Dashboard was implemented into a cluster-randomized stepped wedge trial on 12 units in neurology, oncology, and general medicine services over an 18-month period. It was most used in general medicine units, with nurses logging in throughout the day. On neurology units, it was mostly physician assistants who logged in. It was rarely used on oncology units. The tool was given highest ratings for perceived ease of use and lowest rating for quality of work life, with nurses rating the tool lowest.
AHRQ-funded; HS023535.
Citation: Bersani K, Fuller TE, Garabedian P .
Use, perceived usability, and barriers to implementation of a patient safety dashboard integrated within a vendor EHR.
Appl Clin Inform 2020 Jan;11(1):34-45. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-3402756..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Patient Safety, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Lambert BL, Galanter W, Liu KL
Automated detection of wrong-drug prescribing errors.
Investigators assessed the specificity of an algorithm designed to detect look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) medication prescribing errors in electronic health record (EHR) data. They found that automated detection of LASA medication errors is feasible and can reveal errors not currently detected by other means. Additionally, real-time error detection is not possible with the current system. They suggested that further development should replicate their analysis in other health systems and on a larger set of medications and should decrease clinician time spent reviewing false-positive triggers by increasing specificity.
AHRQ-funded; HS021093.
Citation: Lambert BL, Galanter W, Liu KL .
Automated detection of wrong-drug prescribing errors.
BMJ Qual Saf 2019 Nov;28(11):908-15. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009420..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medical Errors, Medication, Patient Safety
Cohen CR, Friedman CP, Ryan AM
Variation in physicians' electronic health record documentation and potential patient harm from that variation.
This study documents variation in physicians’ electronic health record (EHR) documentation and the potential for patient harm due to the variation. A total of 170,332 encounters led by 809 physicians in 237 practices was analyzed. In addition, 40 physicians in 10 practices were also interviewed. Five clinical documentation categories had substantial and statistically significant differences at the physician level. They were: 1) discussing results; 2) assessment and diagnosis; 3) problem list; 4) review of symptoms; and 5) social history. These variations were perceived to create documentation inefficiencies and risk patient harm due to missed or misinterpreted information.
AHRQ-funded; HS023719.
Citation: Cohen CR, Friedman CP, Ryan AM .
Variation in physicians' electronic health record documentation and potential patient harm from that variation.
J Gen Intern Med 2019 Nov;34(11):2355-67. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05025-3..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Dalal AK, Fuller T, Garabedian P
Systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel EHR-integrated tools to prevent harm in the hospital.
This study examined systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel electronic health record (EHR)-integrated tools for patient safety in the hospital. The authors established a Patient Safety Learning Laboratory of 2 core and 3 individual project teams to introduce a suite of digital health tools integrated with their EHR to identify, assess, and mitigate threats to patient safety. They identified 7 themes regarding use of 12 systems engineering and human factors over the 4-year project.
AHRQ-funded; HS023535.
Citation: Dalal AK, Fuller T, Garabedian P .
Systems engineering and human factors support of a system of novel EHR-integrated tools to prevent harm in the hospital.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2019 Jun;26(6):553-60. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz002..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Patel MR, Friese CR, Mendelsohn-Victor K
Clinician perspectives on electronic health records, communication, and patient safety across diverse medical oncology practices.
This study examined the effects of electronic health records (EHRs) on communication and patient safety in oncology practices. The authors conducted a survey of 297 oncology nurses and prescribers in a statewide collaborative. They found there was an inverse relationship between reliance on EHRs and safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS024914.
Citation: Patel MR, Friese CR, Mendelsohn-Victor K .
Clinician perspectives on electronic health records, communication, and patient safety across diverse medical oncology practices.
J Oncol Pract 2019 Jun;15(6):e529-e36. doi: 10.1200/jop.18.00507..
Keywords: Cancer, Communication, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety, Provider, Provider: Clinician
Adelman JS, Applebaum JR, Schechter CB
Effect of restriction of the number of concurrently open records in an electronic health record on wrong-patient order errors: a randomized clinical trial.
This study assessed whether the belief that having only 1 electronic health record (EHR) open at a time as opposed to 4 will reduce the number of wrong-patient orders by clinicians. A randomized clinical trial was conducted with 3356 clinicians in a large New York Health system from October 2015 to April 2017. Outcomes from emergency department, inpatient, and outpatient settings showed that there seemed to be no difference in the number of wrong-patient order errors. However, most clinicians in the unrestricted group placed orders with a single-record open anyway which limited the power of the study.
AHRQ-funded; HS023704.
Citation: Adelman JS, Applebaum JR, Schechter CB .
Effect of restriction of the number of concurrently open records in an electronic health record on wrong-patient order errors: a randomized clinical trial.
JAMA 2019 May 14;321(18):1780-87. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.3698..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Medical Errors, Patient Safety
Hu X
An algorithm strategy for precise patient monitoring in a connected healthcare enterprise.
This perspective paper describes the building elements for realizing a precise patient monitoring algorithm to address alarm fatigue. The author discusses a solution to patient monitor alarm fatigue, which is to open the black-box of patient monitors to integrate physiologic data with clinical data from electronic health records under a four-element algorithm strategy.
AHRQ-funded; HS022860.
Citation: Hu X .
An algorithm strategy for precise patient monitoring in a connected healthcare enterprise.
NPJ Digit Med 2019 Apr 30;2:30. doi: 10.1038/s41746-019-0107-z..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
P Dellsperger, KC Fallaw, D
AHRQ Author: Rangachari
A mixed-method study of practitioners' perspectives on issues related to EHR medication reconciliation at a health system.
This study sought to identify issues related to electronic health record (EHR) medication reconciliation (MedRec) from the perspective of practitioners directly involved in the EHR MedRec process, with the goal of reducing medication discrepancies during transitions of care and improving the accuracy of patient medication lists. The study was conducted in two rounds: individual interviews, then a survey of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists based in the outpatient and inpatient medicine service at AU Health. The survey elicited practitioner ratings of the importance of issues identified during the interviews. Issues that were rated as important by more than 70 percent of respondents include care coordination, patient education, ownership and accountability, processes-of-care, IT-related issues, and workforce training. From these issues, the authors conclude that there is an absence of shared understanding among practitioners regarding the value of EHR MedRec in promoting patient safety, which contributes to work-arounds and the suboptimal use of the EHR MedRec system, and there is also a sociotechnical dimension to many of these issues which creates an additional layer of complexity.
AHRQ-funded; HS024335.
Citation: P Dellsperger, KC Fallaw, D .
A mixed-method study of practitioners' perspectives on issues related to EHR medication reconciliation at a health system.
Qual Manag Health Care 2019 Apr/Jun;28(2):84-95. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000208..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Provider, Provider: Clinician
Wong A, Seger DL, Lai KH
Drug hypersensitivity reactions documented in electronic health records within a large health system.
The goal of this study was to examine the epidemiology of hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) using EHR data from the Partners Enterprise-wide Allergy Repository for two large tertiary care hospitals. HSRs were categorized as immediate or delayed and the causative drugs and drug groups assessed. Prevalence of HSRs was determined, and the sex and race of patients analyzed. Penicillins were associated with the most immediate and delayed reactions. Nearly half of the reported immediate HSRs manifested as hives. HSRs were more prevalent in females and white patients, but differences were identified for specific, rare HSRs.
AHRQ-funded; HS022728; HS025375.
Citation: Wong A, Seger DL, Lai KH .
Drug hypersensitivity reactions documented in electronic health records within a large health system.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2019 Apr;7(4):1253-60.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2018.11.023..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety
Wolfson AR, Zhou L, Li Y
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome identified in the electronic health record allergy module.
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a rare but severe hypersensitivity reaction that remains poorly characterized in the United States. The objective of this study was to identify and describe DRESS syndrome cases in an integrated health care system using electronic health record (EHR) allergy module free-text searches.
AHRQ-funded; HS022728; HS025375.
Citation: Wolfson AR, Zhou L, Li Y .
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome identified in the electronic health record allergy module.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2019 Feb;7(2):633-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2018.08.013..
Keywords: Medication, Medication: Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Murphy DR, Meyer AN, Sittig DF
Application of electronic trigger tools to identify targets for improving diagnostic safety.
This article discusses the use of electronic trigger tools to reduce diagnostic errors and improve patient safety. The authors present a framework called Safer Dx Trigger Tools Framework that will enable health systems to develop and implement e-trigger tools. It identifies and measures diagnostic errors using comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) data. The application of the algorithms used will require a diverse team of specialists to implement. Future research is also outlined.
AHRQ-funded; HS022901; HS022087; HS017820.
Citation: Murphy DR, Meyer AN, Sittig DF .
Application of electronic trigger tools to identify targets for improving diagnostic safety.
BMJ Qual Saf 2019 Feb;28(2):151-59. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2018-008086..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Powers EM, Shiffman RN, Melnick ER
Efficacy and unintended consequences of hard-stop alerts in electronic health record systems: a systematic review.
Clinical decision support (CDS) hard-stop alerts-those in which the user is either prevented from taking an action altogether or allowed to proceed only with the external override of a third party-are increasingly common but can be problematic. To understand their appropriate application, the investigators explored 3 key questions: (1) To what extent are hard-stop alerts effective in improving patient health and healthcare delivery outcomes? (2) What are the adverse events and unintended consequences of hard-stop alerts? (3) How do hard-stop alerts compare to soft-stop alerts?
AHRQ-funded; HS024332.
Citation: Powers EM, Shiffman RN, Melnick ER .
Efficacy and unintended consequences of hard-stop alerts in electronic health record systems: a systematic review.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2018 Nov;25(11):1556-66. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy112..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery, Patient Safety
Collinsworth AW, Masica AL, Priest EL
Modifying the electronic health record to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of a bundled care program for intensive care unit delirium.
This case study describes how an integrated health care delivery system modified its inpatient electronic health record to accelerate the implementation and evaluation of ABCDE bundle deployment as a safety and quality initiative for the prevention of delirium in intensive care unit patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS021459
Citation: Collinsworth AW, Masica AL, Priest EL .
Modifying the electronic health record to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of a bundled care program for intensive care unit delirium.
eGEMS. 2014;2(1):1121. doi: 10.13063/2327-9214.1121..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Patient Safety, Quality of Care
Peterson SM, Gurses AP, Regan L
Resident to resident handoffs in the emergency department: an observational study.
This study aimed to identify hazards to patient safety and barriers to efficiency related to resident handoffs in the ED. It found that residents were interrupted, on average, every 8.5 min. The most common deficit in relaying the plan of care strategy was failing to relay medications administered (32 percent). In addition, there were ambiguities related to medication administration.
AHRQ-funded; HS018762.
Citation: Peterson SM, Gurses AP, Regan L .
Resident to resident handoffs in the emergency department: an observational study.
J Emerg Med 2014 Nov;47(5):573-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2014.06.027..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Medication
Pohl JM, Tanner C, Hamilton A
Medication safety after implementation of a commercial electronic health record system in five safety-net practices: a mixed methods approach.
This study, conducted in five safety-net practices, examined the impact of implementing a commercial electronic health records system on medication safety. The authors found 130 "true" drug-drug interaction (DDI) pairs, representing 149,087 visits and 62 providers, with the largest DDI categories being related to antihypertensive medications, which are often prescribed together. They found no significant differences between physicians and nurse practitioners on the rate of DDI pairs.
AHRQ-funded; HS017191.
Citation: Pohl JM, Tanner C, Hamilton A .
Medication safety after implementation of a commercial electronic health record system in five safety-net practices: a mixed methods approach.
J Am Assoc Nurse Pract 2014 Aug;26(8):438-44. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12089.
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Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety