National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (15)
- Adverse Events (10)
- Antibiotics (5)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (4)
- Behavioral Health (2)
- Blood Pressure (2)
- Blood Thinners (3)
- Burnout (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Chronic Conditions (3)
- (-) Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (40)
- COVID-19 (1)
- Depression (1)
- Diabetes (1)
- Elderly (2)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (7)
- Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) (3)
- Emergency Department (2)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Genetics (1)
- Guidelines (1)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (1)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (27)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Hepatitis (1)
- Home Healthcare (1)
- Hospitals (1)
- Inpatient Care (3)
- Medical Errors (6)
- (-) Medication (40)
- Medication: Safety (8)
- Opioids (3)
- Outcomes (1)
- Pain (2)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
- Patient Adherence/Compliance (1)
- Patient Safety (14)
- Prevention (1)
- Primary Care (2)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Pharmacist (1)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (2)
- Risk (2)
- Sepsis (1)
- Shared Decision Making (15)
- Substance Abuse (1)
- Surgery (2)
- Telehealth (1)
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 25 of 40 Research Studies DisplayedRolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
This study tested the hypothesis that a decision-support tool embedded in electronic health records (EHRs) leads clinicians to prescribe fewer opioids at discharge after inpatient surgery. Over 21,000 surgical inpatient discharges in a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial in four Colorado hospitals were included. The results indicated that within the context of vigorous opioid education and awareness efforts a decision-support tool incorporated into EHRs did not reduce discharge opioid prescribing for postoperative patients. The authors concluded that opioid prescribing alerts might be valuable in other contexts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027795.
Citation: Rolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ .
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
Anesthesiology 2023 Aug 1; 139(2):186-96. doi: 10.1097/aln.0000000000004607..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Surgery, Inpatient Care, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Lee AH, McEvoy DS, Stump T
Implementation of an electronic alert to improve timeliness of second dose antibiotics for patients with suspected serious infections in the emergency department: a quasi-randomized controlled trial.
This study analyzed the influence of clinical decision support (CDS) to prevent delays in second doses of broad-spectrum antibiotics in the emergency department (ED). The authors allocated adult patients who received cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam in 9 EDs within an integrated health care system to an electronic alert that reminded ED clinicians to reorder antibiotics at the appropriate interval vs usual care. Primary outcome was a median delay in antibiotic administration, and secondary outcomes were rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital mortality, and hospital length of stay. A total of 1,113 ED patients treated with cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam were enrolled in the study, of whom 420 remained under ED care when their second dose was due. The electronic alert system was associated with reduced antibiotic delays, but there were no differences in ICU transfers, inpatient mortality, or hospital length of stay.
AHRQ-funded; HS027170.
Citation: Lee AH, McEvoy DS, Stump T .
Implementation of an electronic alert to improve timeliness of second dose antibiotics for patients with suspected serious infections in the emergency department: a quasi-randomized controlled trial.
Ann Emerg Med 2023 Apr;81(4):485-91. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2022.10.022.
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Emergency Department, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Djulbegovic B, Hozo I, Lizarraga D
Evaluation of a fast-and-frugal clinical decision algorithm ('pathways') on clinical outcomes in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 treated with anticoagulants.
The objective of this study was to assess if delivery of anticoagulant prophylaxis according to an algorithm improved clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in comparison with anticoagulant treatment given at individual practitioners' discretion. Findings indicated that the algorithm did not reduce death, venous thromboembolism, nor major bleeding, but helped avoid longer hospital stay and admission to an intensive-care unit.
AHRQ-funded; HS024917.
Citation: Djulbegovic B, Hozo I, Lizarraga D .
Evaluation of a fast-and-frugal clinical decision algorithm ('pathways') on clinical outcomes in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 treated with anticoagulants.
J Eval Clin Pract 2023 Feb; 29(1):3-12. doi: 10.1111/jep.13780..
Keywords: COVID-19, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Blood Thinners, Medication, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Gomez Lumbreras A, Reese TJ, Del Fiol G
Shared decision-making for drug-drug interactions: formative evaluation of an anticoagulant drug interaction.
This study evaluated a tool called DDInteract that was developed to enhance and support shared decision-making (SDM) between patients and physicians when both warfarin and NSAIDs are used concurrently. The study used case vignettes with physicians and patients on warfarin to conduct simulated virtual clinical encounters where they discussed the use of taking ibuprofen and warfarin concurrently and determined an appropriate therapeutic plan based on the patient’s individualized risk. Participants completed a postsession interview and SDM process survey, including the 9-item Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9), tool usability and workload National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) scale, System Usability Scale (SUS), and Decision Conflict Scale (DCS). A total of 12 physician-patient dyads were used, with over 91% of the patients over 50 and 75% had been taking warfarin for over 2 years. Most participants rated DDInteract higher than usual care (UC) and would be willing to use the tool for an interaction involving warfarin and NSAIDs.
AHRQ-funded; HS027099.
Citation: Gomez Lumbreras A, Reese TJ, Del Fiol G .
Shared decision-making for drug-drug interactions: formative evaluation of an anticoagulant drug interaction.
JMIR Form Res 2022 Oct 19;6(10):e40018. doi: 10.2196/40018..
Keywords: Shared Decision Making, Medication, Blood Thinners, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Medication: Safety, Patient Safety
Dutta S, McEvoy DS, Rubins DM
Clinical decision support improves blood culture collection before intravenous antibiotic administration in the emergency department.
This paper discusses the outcomes of using a clinical decision support (CDS) tool that was implemented in emergency departments (EDs) for sepsis patients to remind healthcare staff to take blood cultures before administration of intravenous (IV) antibiotics. The study compared timely blood culture collection outcomes prior to IV antibiotics for 54,538 adult ED patients 1 year before and after a CDS intervention implementation in the electronic health record. The baseline phase found that 46.1% had blood cultures prior to IV antibiotics, compared to 58.8% after the intervention. The CDS improved blood culture collection rates without increasing overutilization.
AHRQ-funded; HS02717.
Citation: Dutta S, McEvoy DS, Rubins DM .
Clinical decision support improves blood culture collection before intravenous antibiotic administration in the emergency department.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022 Sep 12;29(10):1705-14. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocac115..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Antibiotics, Emergency Department, Medication, Sepsis
Kagarmanova A, Sparkman H, Laiteerapong N
Improving the management of chronic pain, opioid use, and opioid use disorder in older adults: study protocol for i-cope study.
This article describes a protocol for an upcoming study on the planned implementation and evaluation of I-COPE (Improving Chicago Older Adult Opioid and Pain Management through Patient-centered Clinical Decision Support and Project ECHO®) to improve care for older adults with chronic pain, opioid use, and opioid use disorder (OUD). The study will be implemented in 35 clinical sites across the metropolitan Chicago area for patients aged ≥ 65 with chronic pain, opioid use, or OUD who receive primary care at one of the clinics. I-COPE includes the integration of patient-reported data on symptoms and preferences, clinical decision support tools and shared decision making into routine primary care. Primary care providers will be trained on the tools through web-based videos and an optional Project ECHO® course, entitled "Pain Management and OUD in Older Adults." A framework called RE-AIM will be used to assess the I-COPE implementation. Outcomes considered effective include an increased variety of recommended pain treatments, decreased prescriptions of higher-risk pain treatments, and decreased patient pain scores. Outcomes will be evaluated at 6 and 12 months after implementation, and PCPs participating in Project ECHO® will be evaluated on changes in knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy using pre- and post-course surveys.
AHRQ-funded; HS027910.
Citation: Kagarmanova A, Sparkman H, Laiteerapong N .
Improving the management of chronic pain, opioid use, and opioid use disorder in older adults: study protocol for i-cope study.
Trials 2022 Jul 27;23(1):602. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06537-w..
Keywords: Elderly, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Opioids, Medication, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Nanji KC, Garabedian PM, Langlieb ME
Usability of a perioperative medication-related clinical decision support software application: a randomized controlled trial.
The purpose of this study was assess the usability of a newly developed, comprehensive, medication-related operating room clinical decision support (CDS) software and compare it with the standard electronic health record (EHR) medication workflow. Forty participants were randomized to a CDS group (n=20) or a control group (n=20) and asked to complete 7 simulation tasks. The study found that in a simulation setting the new CDS software improved efficiency and quality of care and reduced task time, excelling over the current EHR workflow.
AHRQ-funded; HS024764.
Citation: Nanji KC, Garabedian PM, Langlieb ME .
Usability of a perioperative medication-related clinical decision support software application: a randomized controlled trial.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022 Jul 12;29(8):1416-24. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocac035..
Keywords: Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Surgery, Shared Decision Making
Reese T, Wright A, Liu S
Improving the specificity of drug-drug interaction alerts: can it be done?
A lack of accuracy and specificity of medication alerts have an impact on alert fatigue, high rates of override, and harm to the patient. The drugs that activate alerts are frequently grouped inconsistently into value sets, and alerts for drug-drug interactions (DDI) often do not account for the factors that could decrease risk. The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to identify and bring attention to the inconsistency of drug value sets for activating alerts, as well as provide a method of classifying factors that can be utilized to alter the risk of harm from a DDI. The researchers included 15 well-known DDIs, and utilized 3 drug interaction references to isolate 2 drug value sets as well as order- and patient-related factors for each DDI. The study reported 30 value sets, with 56% of value sets (17) having nonsignificant agreement, with average moderate agreement among the remaining 13 value sets. Thirty-three factors were identified that could decrease risk in 93% (14) of the 15 DDIs. The researchers concluded that the study shows the value of improving the consistency of DDI-alerting drug value sets, and ways in which alert usefulness and specificity can be improved.
AHRQ-funded; HS025984; HS023826.
Citation: Reese T, Wright A, Liu S .
Improving the specificity of drug-drug interaction alerts: can it be done?
Am J Health Syst Pharm 2022 Jun 23;79(13):1086-95. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxac045..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Villa Zapata L, Subbian V, Boyce RD
Overriding drug-drug interaction alerts in clinical decision support systems: a scoping review.
The authors reviewed published data on the rate of Drug-Drug Interactions (DDI) alert overrides and medications involved in the overrides. Among 34 eligible studies, they found that the override rate of DDI alerts ranged from 55% to 98%, with more than half of the studies reporting the most common drug pairs or medications involved in acceptance or overriding of alerts. They recommended decision support systems that take user, drug, and institutional factors into consideration, as well as actionable metrics to better characterize harm associated with overrides.
AHRQ-funded; HS025984; HS023826.
Citation: Villa Zapata L, Subbian V, Boyce RD .
Overriding drug-drug interaction alerts in clinical decision support systems: a scoping review.
Stud Health Technol Inform 2022 Jun 6;290:380-84. doi: 10.3233/shti220101..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication
Reese TJ, Del Fiol G, Morgan K
A shared decision-making tool for drug interactions between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: design and usability study.
Exposure to life-threatening drug-drug interactions (DDIs) occurs despite the widespread use of clinical decision support. The DDI between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is common and potentially life-threatening. Patients can play a substantial role in preventing harm from DDIs; however, the current model for DDI decision-making is clinician centric. This study aimed to design and examine the usability of DDInteract, a tool to support shared decision-making (SDM) between a patient and provider for the DDI between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026198.
Citation: Reese TJ, Del Fiol G, Morgan K .
A shared decision-making tool for drug interactions between warfarin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: design and usability study.
JMIR Hum Factors 2021 Oct 26;8(4):e28618. doi: 10.2196/28618..
Keywords: Blood Thinners, Medication: Safety, Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Campbell NL, Holden RJ, Tang Q
Multicomponent behavioral intervention to reduce exposure to anticholinergics in primary care older adults.
This study tested the effectiveness of a multicomponent behavioral intervention to reduce the use of high-risk anticholinergic medications in primary care older adults. Ten primary care clinics within Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis were selected to test the intervention. The intervention included provider- and patient-focused components. The provider-focused component was a computerized decision support system alerting the presence of a high-risk anticholinergic and offering dose- and indication-specific alternatives; while the patient-focused component was a story-based video providing education and modeling an interaction with a healthcare provider. The intervention occurred from April 2019 through March 2020. A total of 552 older adults had primary care visits during the study period. Only 3 out of 259 provider-focused alerts led to a medication change. Of the 276 staff alerts, 4.7% were confirmed to activate the patient-focused intervention.
AHRQ-funded; P30HS024384.
Citation: Campbell NL, Holden RJ, Tang Q .
Multicomponent behavioral intervention to reduce exposure to anticholinergics in primary care older adults.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 Jun;69(6):1490-99. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17121..
Keywords: Elderly, Medication, Primary Care, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making
Ridgway JP, Robicsek A, Shah N
A randomized controlled trial of an electronic clinical decision support tool for inpatient antimicrobial stewardship.
The weighted incidence syndromic combination antibiogram (WISCA) is an antimicrobial stewardship tool that utilizes electronic medical record data to provide real-time clinical decision support regarding empiric antibiotic prescription in the hospital setting. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of WISCA utilization for empiric antibiotic prescription on hospital length of stay (LOS).
AHRQ-funded; HS022283.
Citation: Ridgway JP, Robicsek A, Shah N .
A randomized controlled trial of an electronic clinical decision support tool for inpatient antimicrobial stewardship.
Clin Infect Dis 2021 May 4;72(9):e265-e71. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1048..
Keywords: Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Ruaño G, Tortora J, Robinson S
Subanalysis of the CYP-GUIDES trial: CYP2D6 functional stratification and operational timeline selection.
CYP-GUIDES (Cytochrome Psychotropic Genotyping Under Investigation for Decision Support) was a Randomized Controlled Trial comparing 2 outcomes in hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder treated according to the patient's CYP2D6 genotype and functional status versus standard psychotropic therapy. In this paper, the authors described a subanalysis of the CYP-GUIDES trial. They concluded that there was an effect of pharmacogenetic clinical decision support that reduced length of stay in patients with CYP2D6 subfunctional status and reduced prescribing of CYP2D6 substrate dependent drugs.
AHRQ-funded; HS022304
Citation: Ruaño G, Tortora J, Robinson S .
Subanalysis of the CYP-GUIDES trial: CYP2D6 functional stratification and operational timeline selection.
Psychiatry Res 2021 Mar;297:113571. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113571..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Depression, Genetics, Medication, Behavioral Health
Kane-Gill SL, Wong A, Culley CM
JA, et al. Transforming the medication regimen review process using telemedicine to prevent adverse events.
The objective of this study was to determine the impact of pharmacist-led telemedicine services on reducing high-risk medication adverse drug events (ADEs) for nursing home (NH) residents using medication reconciliation and prospective medication regimen reviews (MRRs) on admission plus ongoing clinical decision support alerts throughout the residents' stay. Studying residents in four NHs in Southwestern Pennsylvania, findings showed that the intervention group had a 92% lower incidence of alert-specific ADEs than usual care, and all-cause hospitalization was similar between groups, as were 30-day readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; HS02420.
Citation: Kane-Gill SL, Wong A, Culley CM .
JA, et al. Transforming the medication regimen review process using telemedicine to prevent adverse events.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 Feb;69(2):530-38. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16946..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Prevention
Patterson ES, DiLoreto GN, Vanam R
Enhancing usefulness and usability of a clinical decision support prototype for antibiotic stewardship.
This paper describes a multi-method approach to improve clinical decision support (CDS) for antibiotic stewardship. A heuristic review was employed to generate recommendations to improve the usability of a prototype CDS in the hospital setting. The authors then engaged in a design improvement cycle in collaboration with software programmers that enhanced their prototype. The revised prototype was then demonstrated to physician and pharmacist subject matter experts in three walkthrough interviews. These interviews generated recommendations to improve the interface, functionality, and tailoring for groups of users. Common elements for the recommendations are discussed for models for using clinical decision support in general.
AHRQ-funded; HS024379.
Citation: Patterson ES, DiLoreto GN, Vanam R .
Enhancing usefulness and usability of a clinical decision support prototype for antibiotic stewardship.
Proc Int Symp Hum Factors Ergon Healthc 2020 Sep;9(1):61-65. doi: 10.1177/2327857920091034..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication
Co Z, Holmgren AJ, Classen DC
The tradeoffs between safety and alert fatigue: data from a national evaluation of hospital medication-related clinical decision support.
This study evaluated the overall performance of hospitals that used the Computerized Physician Order Entry Evaluation Tool in 2017 and 2018 and compared performances for fatal orders and nuisance orders each year. The authors evaluated 1599 hospitals that took the test by using their overall percentage scores along with the percentage of fatal orders appropriately alerted on and the percentage of nuisance orders incorrectly alerted on. Overall hospital scores improved from 58.1% in 2017 to 66.2% in 2018. Fatal order performance improved slightly from 78.8% to 83.0%, but there no very little change in nuisance order performance (89.0% to 89.7%). Conclusions were that perhaps hospitals are not targeting the deadliest orders first and some hospitals may be achieving higher scores by over-alerting. This has the potential to cause clinician burnout and even worsen patient safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS023696.
Citation: Co Z, Holmgren AJ, Classen DC .
The tradeoffs between safety and alert fatigue: data from a national evaluation of hospital medication-related clinical decision support.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2020 Aug;27(8):1252-58. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa098..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Burnout, Hospitals, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality of Care
Trubiano JA, Vogrin S, Chua KYL
Development and validation of a penicillin allergy clinical decision rule.
Penicillin allergy is a significant public health issue for patients, antimicrobial stewardship programs, and health services. Validated clinical decision rules are urgently needed to identify low-risk penicillin allergies that potentially do not require penicillin skin testing by a specialist. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a penicillin allergy clinical decision rule that enables point-of-care risk assessment of patient-reported penicillin allergies.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Trubiano JA, Vogrin S, Chua KYL .
Development and validation of a penicillin allergy clinical decision rule.
JAMA Intern Med 2020 May;180(5):745-52. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.0403..
Keywords: Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Risk
Ramirez M, Chen K, Follett RW
Impact of a "chart closure" hard stop alert on prescribing for elevated blood pressures among patients with diabetes: quasi-experimental study.
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the implementation of the Best Practice Advisory (BPA) was associated with changes in angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) prescribing during primary care encounters for patients with diabetes. The investigators concluded that a BPA with a "chart closure" hard stop is a promising tool for the treatment of patients with comorbid diabetes and hypertension with an ACEI or ARB, especially when implemented within the context of team-based care, wherein clinical pharmacists support the work of primary care providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS00046.
Citation: Ramirez M, Chen K, Follett RW .
Impact of a "chart closure" hard stop alert on prescribing for elevated blood pressures among patients with diabetes: quasi-experimental study.
JMIR Med Inform 2020 Apr 17;8(4):e16421. doi: 10.2196/16421..
Keywords: Blood Pressure, Medication, Diabetes, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Chronic Conditions
Marcial LH, Blumenfeld B, Harle C
Barriers, facilitators, and potential solutions to advancing interoperable clinical decision support: multi-stakeholder consensus recommendations for the opioid use case.
These proceedings report on the AHRQ-sponsored Patient-Centered CDS Learning Network (PCCDS LN) Technical Framework Working Group (TechFWG), which was convened to identify barriers, facilitators, and potential solutions for interoperable clinical decision support, with a specific focus on addressing the opioid epidemic. The key insights were extrapolated to CDS-facilitated care improvement outside of the specific opioid use case. If applied broadly, the recommendations should help advance the availability and impact of interoperable CDS delivered at scale.
AHRQ-funded; HS024849.
Citation: Marcial LH, Blumenfeld B, Harle C .
Barriers, facilitators, and potential solutions to advancing interoperable clinical decision support: multi-stakeholder consensus recommendations for the opioid use case.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2020 Mar 4;2019:637-46..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Opioids, Medication, Pain, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Holmgren AJ, Co Z, Newmark L
Assessing the safety of electronic health records: a national longitudinal study of medication-related decision support.
The authors tested how well EHRs prevented medication errors with the potential for patient harm. Data from a national, longitudinal sample of 1527 hospitals in the US from 2009-16 who took a safety performance assessment test using simulated medication orders was used. The authors found that hospital medication order safety performance improved over time. They conclude that intentional quality improvement efforts appear to be a critical part of high safety performance and may indicate the importance of a culture of safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS023696.
Citation: Holmgren AJ, Co Z, Newmark L .
Assessing the safety of electronic health records: a national longitudinal study of medication-related decision support.
BMJ Qual Saf 2020 Jan;29(1):52-59. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009609..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety, Medication, Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing), Medication: Safety, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making
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
Blecker S, Austrian JS, Horwitz LI
Interrupting providers with clinical decision support to improve care for heart failure.
The goal of this study was to develop a clinical decision support (CDS) system to recommend an angiotenson converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor during hospitalization so it could be promoted for continuation at discharge. Patients who were hospitalized with reduced ejection fraction were pseudo-randomized to deliver interruptive or non-interruptive CDS alerts to providers based on the patients’ even or odd medical record number. The utilization rate was higher for interruptive alert versus non-interruptive alert hospitalizations for a sample of 958. This resulted in improved quality of care for heart failure patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS023683.
Citation: Blecker S, Austrian JS, Horwitz LI .
Interrupting providers with clinical decision support to improve care for heart failure.
Int J Med Inform 2019 Nov;131:103956. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.103956..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Nguyen BP, Reese T, Decker S
Implementation of clinical decision support services to detect potential drug-drug interaction using clinical quality language.
The authors report on the implementation and evaluation of CDS Services which represent potential drug-drug interactions knowledge with Clinical Quality Language (CQL). Their suggested solution is based on emerging standards including CDS Hooks, FHIR, and CQL. They selected two use cases, implemented them with CQL rules, and tested them.
AHRQ-funded; HS023826; HS025984.
Citation: Nguyen BP, Reese T, Decker S .
Implementation of clinical decision support services to detect potential drug-drug interaction using clinical quality language.
Stud Health Technol Inform 2019 Aug 21;264:724-28. doi: 10.3233/shti190318..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Medication, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Slight SP, Seger DL, Franz C
The national cost of adverse drug events resulting from inappropriate medication-related alert overrides in the United States.
Investigators worked to determine the national cost of adverse drug events (ADEs) in the United States in 2014. They used three different regression models. They used a random sample of 40,990 adult inpatients at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with over 1.6 million medication orders. They extrapolated the medication orders using 2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data. They estimated that out of 78.8 million total medication alerts, 5.5 million medication alerts would have been inappropriately overridden resulting in 196,660 ADEs. They estimated it would have cost between $871 million and $1.8 billion for treating these preventable ADEs in the United States.
AHRQ-funded; HS021094.
Citation: Slight SP, Seger DL, Franz C .
The national cost of adverse drug events resulting from inappropriate medication-related alert overrides in the United States.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2018 Sep;25(9):1183-88. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy066..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Costs, Medical Errors, Medication
Nanji KC, Seger DL, Slight SP
Medication-related clinical decision support alert overrides in inpatients.
This study examined the use of medical-related clinical decision support alert overrides by clinicians in hospital inpatient settings. Overall, almost three-quarters of alerts were overridden, with 40% of them not being appropriate. The majority of overrides dealing with duplicate drug, patient allergy or formulary substitution alerts were appropriate but very few for renal- or age-based were. The authors concluded that research should be done to optimize alert types and frequencies to reduce alarm fatigue.
AHRQ-funded; HS024764.
Citation: Nanji KC, Seger DL, Slight SP .
Medication-related clinical decision support alert overrides in inpatients.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2018 May;25(5):476-81. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocx115..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT), Inpatient Care, Medication