National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Topics
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- Stroke (3)
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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 25 of 78 Research Studies DisplayedBui LN, Knox M, Miller-Rosales C
Hospital capabilities associated with behavioral health integration within emergency departments.
The objective of this study was to identify hospital capabilities associated with behavioral health processes in emergency departments. Responses to the National Survey of Healthcare Organizations and Systems were linked American Hospital Association Annual Survey data. Most hospitals reported screening for behavioral health conditions and provided direct referrals to community-based clinicians. Approximately half the hospitals used team approaches to behavioral health. Hospitals that reported more barriers to care delivery innovations also reported less screening and usage of a team approach. The authors concluded that research and interventions which focus on removing barriers or adding processes to disseminate best practices offer a path to accelerate behavioral health integration in emergency departments.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Bui LN, Knox M, Miller-Rosales C .
Hospital capabilities associated with behavioral health integration within emergency departments.
Med Care 2024 Mar; 62(3):170-74. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001973.
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Emergency Department, Hospitals, Substance Abuse, Teams, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Mueller SK, Garabedian P, Goralnick E
Advancing health information during interhospital transfer: an interrupted time series.
The researchers report that health information exchange (HIE) during the interhospital transfer (IHT) of patients between acute care hospitals is subject to fragmented communication and unreliable access to clinical information. This proposed study will design, implement, and rigorously evaluate the implementation of a HIE platform to improve data access during IHT. The four-fold purposes of this study are to: 1) optimize clinician workflow, data visualization, and interoperability through user-centered design sessions for HIE platform development; 2) evaluate the impact of the intervention on clinician-reported medical errors among 500 pre- and 500 postintervention IHT patients using interrupted time series methodology; 3) evaluate intervention fidelity, use, and perceived usability of the platform, and barriers and facilitators of implementation from interprofessional stakeholder input, using mixed-methods evaluation; and 4) combine primary findings to develop a toolkit for spread and sustainability.
AHRQ-funded; HS028982.
Citation: Mueller SK, Garabedian P, Goralnick E .
Advancing health information during interhospital transfer: an interrupted time series.
J Hosp Med 2023 Dec; 18(12):1063-71. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13221..
Keywords: Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Transitions of Care
Shah W, Villaflores CW, Chuong LH
Association between in-person vs telehealth follow-up and rates of repeated hospital visits among patients seen in the emergency department.
This study investigated whether the rates of emergency department (ED) return visits and hospitalization differ between patients who obtain in-person versus telehealth encounters for post-ED follow-up care. This retrospective cohort study included adult patients who came to either of 2 in-system EDs of a single urban integrated academic system from April 2020 to September 2021, were discharged home, and obtained a follow-up appointment with a primary care physician within 14 days of their index ED visit. Overall, the study recorded 12,848 patients with 16,987 ED encounters (mean age 53 years; 57% women, 12% Black or African American; 22% Hispanic or Latinx; and 58% White) included. Overall, 17% of initial ED encounters led to returns to the ED, and 4% subsequent hospitalizations. Telehealth vs in-person follow-up visits were associated with increased rates of ED returns (28.3 more ED returns per 1000 encounters) and hospitalizations (10.6 more hospitalizations per 1000 encounters).
AHRQ-funded; HS026372.
Citation: Shah W, Villaflores CW, Chuong LH .
Association between in-person vs telehealth follow-up and rates of repeated hospital visits among patients seen in the emergency department.
JAMA Netw Open 2022 Oct;5(10):e2237783. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.37783..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Emergency Department, Healthcare Utilization, Hospitals
Sittig DF, Lakhani P, Singh H
Applying requisite imagination to safeguard electronic health record transitions.
In this study, the authors apply principles of Requisite Imagination, or the ability to imagine key aspects of the future one is planning, to offer 6 recommendations on how to safeguard proactively transitions of health care organizations from one EHR to another. They concluded that proactive approaches using their Requisite Imagination principles outlined in their article can help ensure safe, effective, and economically sound EHR transitions.
AHRQ-funded; HS027363.
Citation: Sittig DF, Lakhani P, Singh H .
Applying requisite imagination to safeguard electronic health record transitions.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022 Apr 13;29(5):1014-18. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab291..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Bui LN, Marshall C, Miller-Rosales C
Hospital adoption of electronic decision support tools for preeclampsia management.
Maternal morbidity and mortality can be reduced by the utilization of evidence-based clinical guidelines for preeclampsia management. Electronic health record (EHR)-based clinical decision support tools can improve the use of those guidelines. The purpose of this study was to investigate the organizational capabilities and hospital adoption of HER-based decision tools for preeclampsia management. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of hospitals that provided obstetric care in 2017. A total of 739 hospitals that responded to the 2017-2018 National Survey of Healthcare Organizations and Systems (NSHOS) and their results were linked to the 2017 Area Health Resources File (AHRF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey Database. A final total of 425 hospitals from 49 states were analyzed. The primary outcome of the analysis was whether a hospital adopted EHR-based clinical decision support tools for preeclampsia management. The study found that 68% of the hospitals utilized EHR-based decision support tools for preeclampsia, and that hospitals with a single EHR system were more likely to adopt EHR-based decision support tools for preeclampsia than hospitals with multiple systems, including a combination of EHR and paper-based systems. The researchers also determined that hospitals with more processes to disseminate best patient care practices were more likely to adopt EHR-based decision support tools for preeclampsia management. The study concluded that having standardized EHRs and policies to disseminate evidence can help hospitals advance the use of EHR-based decision support tools for preeclampsia management in those hospitals that have not yet adopted them.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Bui LN, Marshall C, Miller-Rosales C .
Hospital adoption of electronic decision support tools for preeclampsia management.
Qual Manag Health Care 2022 Apr-Jun;31(2):59-67. doi: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000328..
Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Pregnancy, Women
Zhang J, Drawz PE, Zhu Y
Validation of administrative coding and clinical notes for hospital-acquired acute kidney injury in adults.
This retrospective study validated the quality of administrative coding for hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI) and explored the opportunities to improve the phenotyping performance by utilizing additional data sources from the electronic health record. The researchers obtained significantly different quality measures of administrative coding from the previously reported ones in the U.S. They recommended the additional use of clinical notes by incorporating automatic natural language processing data extraction in order to increase the AUC in phenotyping AKI. Further, AKI was better recognized in patients with heart failure, indicating disparities in the coding and management of AKI.
AHRQ-funded; HS024532.
Citation: Zhang J, Drawz PE, Zhu Y .
Validation of administrative coding and clinical notes for hospital-acquired acute kidney injury in adults.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2022 Feb 21;2021:1234-43..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Kidney Disease and Health, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Pylypchuk Y, Meyerhoefer CD, Encinosa W
AHRQ Author: Encinosa W
The role of electronic health record developers in hospital patient sharing.
This study’s objective was to determine whether hospital adoption of a new electronic health record (EHR) developer increases patient sharing with hospitals using the same developer. Data was extracted on patients shared with other hospitals for 2076 US nonfederal acute care hospitals from the 2011 to 2016 CMS Physician Shared Patient Patterns database. The authors calculated the ratio of patients shared with hospitals outside of the focal hospital’s network that use the same EHR developer as the focal hospital. Switching to a new developer increased the ratio of patients shared with other hospitals using the same developer by 4.1-19.3%, depending on model specification. Magnitude of this effect varied by EHR developer and was increasing in developer market share.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Pylypchuk Y, Meyerhoefer CD, Encinosa W .
The role of electronic health record developers in hospital patient sharing.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022 Jan;29(3):435-42. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab263..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Schnock KO, Snyder JE, Gershanik E
Unique patient-reported hospital safety concerns with online tool: MySafeCare.
This study evaluated the MySafeCare (MSC) application at six acute care units for 18 months as part of a patient-centered health information technology intervention to promote engagement and safety in the acute care setting. This web-based application allowed hospitalized patients to submit safety concerns anonymously and in real time. The authors evaluated rates of submissions to MSC and compared them to the hospital’s submissions to the Patient Family Relations Department. They received 46 submissions to MSC, and 33% of them were received anonymously. The overall rate of submissions was 0.6 submissions per 1000 patient-days, which was considerably lower than the rate of submissions to the Patient Family Relations Department during the same time period (4.1 per 1000 patient-days). MSC did capture important content concerning unmet care needs and preferences, inadequate communication, and concerns about safety of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS023535.
Citation: Schnock KO, Snyder JE, Gershanik E .
Unique patient-reported hospital safety concerns with online tool: MySafeCare.
J Patient Saf 2022 Jan;18(1):e33-e39. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000697..
Keywords: Patient Safety, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient and Family Engagement
Lafferty M, Harrod M, Krein S
It's like sending a message in a bottle: a qualitative study of the consequences of one-way communication technologies in hospitals.
Researchers examined how physicians and nurses use available communication technologies and identify the implications for communication and patient care based on the theory of workarounds. They found that one-way communication technologies created an environment where workarounds could flourish. By placing results within the context of the theory of workarounds, they extended what is known about why and how workarounds develop, and they offered strategies to minimize workarounds' adverse effects. They concluded that two-way communication technologies could minimize workarounds and gaps in information exchange and could reduce unnecessary interruptions and the potential for adverse events.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Nov 25;28(12):2601-07. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab191.
Citation: Lafferty M, Harrod M, Krein S .
It's like sending a message in a bottle: a qualitative study of the consequences of one-way communication technologies in hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS022305..
Keywords: Hospitals, Communication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Physician
Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
This study’s objective was to compare results of using web-based and mail HCAHPS data collection protocols. The cohort included patients who were hospitalized in a New England Hospital. Patients who provided email addresses were randomized to 1 of 3 data collection protocols: web-only, web with postal mail follow-up, and postal mail only. Those who did not provide email addresses were surveyed by postal mail only. The study lasted 8 weeks. Measures looked at included response rates, characteristics of respondents, 6 composite measures of their patient experiences, and two ratings of the hospital. Web-only response rates were significantly lower than for mail or combined protocols, and those who had not provided email addresses also had lower response rates. Older adults over age 65 were more likely to respond to all protocols, especially for mail-only respondents. Respondents without email addresses were older, less educated, and reported worse health than those who had email addresses.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL .
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
Med Care 2021 Oct;59(10):907-12. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001627..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care
Holmgren AJ, Kuznetsova M, Classen D
Assessing hospital electronic health record vendor performance across publicly reported quality measures.
The authors measured hospital performance, stratified by electronic health record (EHR) vendor, across 4 quality metrics. They found that no EHR vendor was associated with higher quality across all measures, and the 2 largest vendors were not associated with the highest scores. Only a small fraction of quality variation was explained by EHR vendor choice. They concluded that top performance on quality measures can be achieved with any EHR vendor, as much of quality performance is driven by the hospital and how it uses the EHR.
AHRQ-funded; HS023696.
Citation: Holmgren AJ, Kuznetsova M, Classen D .
Assessing hospital electronic health record vendor performance across publicly reported quality measures.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Sep 18;28(10):2101-07. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab120..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Provider Performance
Apathy NC, Holmgren AJ, Adler-Milstein J
A decade post-HITECH: critical access hospitals have electronic health records but struggle to keep up with other advanced functions.
This study compared electronic health record (EHR) adoption and advanced use over time at critical access hospitals (CAHs) and non-CAHs. Data used was 2008 to 2018 American Hospital Information Technology survey data to update national EHR adoption statistics. In 2018, almost 100% (98.3%) of hospitals had adopted EHRs with no difference by CAH status. More than half had adopted advanced patient engagement (PE) and clinical data analytics (CDA). CAHs were less likely to adopt both advanced uses. This digital divide prevents CAH patients from benefitting from a fully digitized healthcare system.
AHRQ-funded; HS026116.
Citation: Apathy NC, Holmgren AJ, Adler-Milstein J .
A decade post-HITECH: critical access hospitals have electronic health records but struggle to keep up with other advanced functions.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Aug 13;28(9):1947-54. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab102..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Pylypchuk Y, Barker W, Encinosa W
AHRQ Author: Encinosa W
Impact of the 2015 Health Information Technology Certification Edition on interoperability among hospitals.
Most nonfederal acute care hospitals use electronic health records (EHRs) certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. In 2015, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology finalized the 2015 Health IT Certification Edition and adoption by hospitals began in 2016. In this study, the investigators examined the impact of the 2015 Edition on rates of interoperable exchange among nonfederal acute hospitals.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Pylypchuk Y, Barker W, Encinosa W .
Impact of the 2015 Health Information Technology Certification Edition on interoperability among hospitals.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021 Aug 13;28(9):1866-73. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocab083..
Keywords: Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Legler S, Diehl M, Hilliard B
Evaluation of an intrahospital telemedicine program for patients admitted with COVID-19: mixed methods study.
This pilot study’s objective was to evaluate an intrahospital telemedicine program along with its impact on exposure risk and communication for patients admitted with COVID-19. Virtual care was the main primary exposure variable and patient characteristics, PPE use rates, and their association with virtual care were assessed. Out of 137 total patients in their primary analysis, 43 patients used virtual care. There were 82 inpatient days of use, and 401 inpatient days without use. Surveys of 41 patients and clinicians showed high rates of recommendation for further use. A significant reduction in PPE use and physical exam rate was associated with virtual care. However, there are limitations in usability, medical assessment, and empathetic communication.
AHRQ-funded; HS026732.
Citation: Legler S, Diehl M, Hilliard B .
Evaluation of an intrahospital telemedicine program for patients admitted with COVID-19: mixed methods study.
J Med Internet Res 2021 Apr 29;23(4):e25987. doi: 10.2196/25987..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals, Hospitalization, Communication, COVID-19
Elysee G, Yu H, Herrin J
Association between 30-day readmission rates and health information technology capabilities in US hospitals.
A study was conducted to determine if there is an association of health information technology (HIT) adoption and a decrease in 30-day hospital readmission rates. Data was used from the 2013 American Hospital Association IT survey which included non-federal U.S. acute care hospitals with self-reported capabilities. A 54-indicator 7-factor structure of hospital health IT capabilities was identified by exploratory factor analysis. A one-point increase in the hospital adoption of patient engagement capability latent scores generally leads to a 0.086% decrease in risk-standardized readmission rates (RSRRs). However, computerized hospital discharge and information exchange among clinicians did not seem as beneficial.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882.
Citation: Elysee G, Yu H, Herrin J .
Association between 30-day readmission rates and health information technology capabilities in US hospitals.
Medicine 2021 Feb 26;100(8):e24755. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000024755..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care
Haldar S, Khelifi M, Mishra SR
Designing inpatient portals to support patient agency and dynamic hospital experiences.
Inpatient portals could help patients engage in their hospital care, yet several design, usability, and adoption issues prevent this technology from fulfilling its potential. Despite patients having needs that extend beyond the scope of existing inpatient portals, we know less about how to design such portals that support them. To learn about effective designs, the investigators created three mid-fidelity prototypes representing novel approaches for inpatient portal design.
AHRQ-funded; HS022894.
Citation: Haldar S, Khelifi M, Mishra SR .
Designing inpatient portals to support patient agency and dynamic hospital experiences.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2021 Jan 25;2021:524-33..
Keywords: Patient Experience, Inpatient Care, Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Luo B, McLoone M, Rasooly IR
Analysis: protocol for a new method to measure physiologic monitor alarm responsiveness.
A team of researchers including biomedical engineers, human factors engineers, information technology specialists, nurses, physicians, facilitators from a hospital’s simulation center, clinical informaticians, and hospital administrative leadership worked with three units at a pediatric hospital to design and conduct simulations on newly implemented monitoring technology that will be used for patient critical alarms. The system was tested using a simulation with existing hospital technology to transmit an unambiguously critical alarm that appeared to originate from an actual patient to the nurse’s mobile device, with discreet observers measuring responses.
AHRQ-funded; HS026620.
Citation: Luo B, McLoone M, Rasooly IR .
Analysis: protocol for a new method to measure physiologic monitor alarm responsiveness.
Biomed Instrum Technol 2020 Nov/Dec;54(6):389-96. doi: 10.2345/0899-8205-54.6.389..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Simulation, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Brady PW, Schondelmeyer AC, Landrigan CP
Validity of continuous pulse oximetry orders for identification of actual monitoring status in bronchiolitis.
Investigators used direct bedside observation to determine continuous pulse oximetry monitor use in infants with bronchiolitis and then assessed if an active continuous monitoring order was present in the electronic health record. They found that most monitored infants did not have an active monitoring order. The positive predictive value of a monitoring order was 77%, and the negative predictive value was 69%. They recommended that teams intending to measure continuous pulse oximetry use understand the limitations of using electronic health record orders as a stand-alone measure.
AHRQ-funded; HS023827; HS026763.
Citation: Brady PW, Schondelmeyer AC, Landrigan CP .
Validity of continuous pulse oximetry orders for identification of actual monitoring status in bronchiolitis.
J Hosp Med 2020 Nov;15(11):665-68. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3443..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
Boggs KM, Teferi MM, Espinola JA
Consolidating emergency department-specific data to enable linkage with large administrative datasets.
This paper looks at the challenges and opportunities presented by consolidating hospital-level data with patient-level data to create better analyses of hospital-based specialties, units, or departments, and patient outcomes. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has hospital-level data, while the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has patient-level data which can be used to study emergency departments (EDs). A distinct database discussed in this paper is the Nationwide Emergency Department Inventory (NEDI). However, the NEDI database lists EDs individually while the AHA and CMS databases list EDs individually or by group if they are part of a larger network. A test set using EDs from New England was conducted using individually matched NEDI EDs with corresponding EDs in the AHA and CMS. A “group match” was assigned when more than one NEDI ED was matched to a single AHA or CMS facility ID number. Of the 195 EDs in the test set, 169 (87%) completed the NEDI survey. Of those, 77% EDs were individually listed in AHA and CMS while 39 were part of groups consisting of 2-3 EDs with one facility ID. The grouped EDs had a larger number of annual visits and beds, were more likely to be freestanding and were less likely to be rural. The consolidated dataset with 171 EDS yielded similar results to the 169 responding EDs which provides a more representative sample for studies.
AHRQ-funded; HS024561.
Citation: Boggs KM, Teferi MM, Espinola JA .
Consolidating emergency department-specific data to enable linkage with large administrative datasets.
West J Emerg Med 2020 Oct 27;21(6):141-45. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2020.8.48305..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Emergency Department, Hospitals, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Saleh SN, Makam AN, Halm EA,
Can we predict early 7-day readmissions using a standard 30-day hospital readmission risk prediction model?
Despite focus on preventing 30-day readmissions, early readmissions (within 7 days of discharge) may be more preventable than later readmissions (8-30 days). In this study, the investigators assessed how well a previously validated 30-day EHR-based readmission model predicted 7-day readmissions and compared differences in strength of predictors. They suggested that improvements in predicting early 7-day readmissions will likely require new risk factors proximal to day of discharge.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Saleh SN, Makam AN, Halm EA, .
Can we predict early 7-day readmissions using a standard 30-day hospital readmission risk prediction model?
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2020 Sep 15;20(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s12911-020-01248-1..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Risk, Transitions of Care, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
McAlearney AS, Walker DM, Gaughan A
Helping patients be better patients: a qualitative study of perceptions about inpatient portal use.
This qualitative study looked at perceptions about inpatient portal use and its impact on patient experience and the care process. The authors interviewed 120 patients and 433 care team members across a seven-hospital academic medical center that offers an inpatient portal to hospitalized patients. Care team members felt the inpatient portal helped patients be “better patients” by improving their ability to be informed about their health and enabling them to be more involved in the care process. The care team members suggested portal use could be improved by addressing challenges with tablet administration, use of the patient education feature, and the functionality of the scheduling feature.
AHRQ-funded; HS024379; HS024091.
Citation: McAlearney AS, Walker DM, Gaughan A .
Helping patients be better patients: a qualitative study of perceptions about inpatient portal use.
Telemed J E Health 2020 Sep;26(9):1184-87. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2019.0198..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Inpatient Care, Hospitals
Otto L, Wang A, Wheeler K
Comparison of manual and computer assigned injury severity scores.
The study objective was to compare the ISS manually assigned by hospital personnel and those generated by the ICDPIC software for value agreement and predictive power of length of stay (LOS) and mortality. The investigators found that the LOS and mortality predictive power were significantly higher for manually assigned ISS when compared with computer assigned ISS in both PTC and NTDB data sets. They indicated that hospitals should be cautious about transitioning to computer assigned ISS, specifically for patients who are critically injured.
AHRQ-funded; HS024263.
Citation: Otto L, Wang A, Wheeler K .
Comparison of manual and computer assigned injury severity scores.
Inj Prev 2020 Aug;26(4):330-33. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043224..
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Injuries and Wounds, Trauma, Hospitals
Everson J, Rubin JC, Friedman CP
Reconsidering hospital EHR adoption at the dawn of HITECH: implications of the reported 9% adoption of a "basic" EHR.
This study reexamined the results of a prominent 2009 national report that reported 9% of US hospitals had adopted a “basic” electronic health record (EHR) system. That calculation relied on specific treatment of the data. The authors reanalyzed the 2008 American Heart Association Information Technology supplement and complementary sources to get a range of estimates of EHR adoption. By 2008 73% of hospitals had begun the transition to EHR, with the majority having adopted at least 6 of the 10 functionalities of a basic system. Aggregate data showed that 58% of hospitals had completed the transition, and when accounting for measurement error they estimated that 30% of hospitals may have adopted a basic EHR. This is significantly higher than the 9% figure popularly used and might have led to different policies then.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Everson J, Rubin JC, Friedman CP .
Reconsidering hospital EHR adoption at the dawn of HITECH: implications of the reported 9% adoption of a "basic" EHR.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2020 Aug;27(8):1198-205. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa090..
Keywords: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitals
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
Zachrison KS, Boggs KM, Hayden EM
A national survey of telemedicine use by US emergency departments.
Telemedicine has the potential to improve the delivery of emergency medical care: however, the extent of its adoption in United States (US) emergency departments is not known. The objectives of this study were to characterise the prevalence of telemedicine use among all US emergency departments, describe clinical applications for which it is most commonly used, and identify emergency department characteristics associated with its use.
AHRQ-funded; HS024561.
Citation: Zachrison KS, Boggs KM, Hayden EM .
A national survey of telemedicine use by US emergency departments.
J Telemed Telecare 2020 Jun;26(5):278-84. doi: 10.1177/1357633x18816112..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Emergency Department, Healthcare Delivery, Hospitals