Dean F Sittig

Publications

• 3.97

  Impact points

  Development and evaluation of a crowdsourcing methodology for knowledge base construction: identifying relationships between clinical problems and medications.

  Allison B McCoy, Adam Wright, Archana Laxmisan, Madelene J Ottosen, Jacob A McCoy, David Butten, Dean F Sittig

  Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 05/2012;

  ObjectiveWe describe a novel, crowdsourcing method for generating a knowledge base of problem-medication pairs that takes advantage of manually asserted links between medications and problems.MethodsThrough iterative review, we developed metrics to estimate the appropriateness of manually entered pr... [more] ObjectiveWe describe a novel, crowdsourcing method for generating a knowledge base of problem-medication pairs that takes advantage of manually asserted links between medications and problems.MethodsThrough iterative review, we developed metrics to estimate the appropriateness of manually entered problem-medication links for inclusion in a knowledge base that can be used to infer previously unasserted links between problems and medications.ResultsClinicians manually linked 231 223 medications (55.30% of prescribed medications) to problems within the electronic health record, generating 41 203 distinct problem-medication pairs, although not all were accurate. We developed methods to evaluate the accuracy of the pairs, and after limiting the pairs to those meeting an estimated 95% appropriateness threshold, 11 166 pairs remained. The pairs in the knowledge base accounted for 183 127 total links asserted (76.47% of all links). Retrospective application of the knowledge base linked 68 316 medications not previously linked by a clinician to an indicated problem (36.53% of unlinked medications). Expert review of the combined knowledge base, including inferred and manually linked problem-medication pairs, found a sensitivity of 65.8% and a specificity of 97.9%.ConclusionCrowdsourcing is an effective, inexpensive method for generating a knowledge base of problem-medication pairs that is automatically mapped to local terminologies, up-to-date, and reflective of local prescribing practices and trends.

• The evolution of eProtocols that enable reproducible clinical research and care methods.

  Denitza P Blagev, Eliotte L Hirshberg, Katherine Sward, B Taylor Thompson, Roy Brower, Jonathon Truwit, Duncan Hite, Jay Steingrub, James F Orme, Terry P Clemmer, Lindell K Weaver, Frank Thomas, Colin K Grissom, Dean Sorenson, Dean F Sittig, C Jane Wallace, Thomas D East, Homer R Warner, Alan H Morris

  Journal of clinical monitoring and computing. 04/2012;

  Unnecessary variation in clinical care and clinical research reduces our ability to determine what healthcare interventions are effective. Reducing this unnecessary variation could lead to further healthcare quality improvement and more effective clinical research. We have developed and used electro... [more] Unnecessary variation in clinical care and clinical research reduces our ability to determine what healthcare interventions are effective. Reducing this unnecessary variation could lead to further healthcare quality improvement and more effective clinical research. We have developed and used electronic decision support tools (eProtocols) to reduce unnecessary variation. Our eProtocols have progressed from a locally developed mainframe computer application in one clinical site (LDS Hospital) to web-based applications available in multiple languages and used internationally. We use eProtocol-insulin as an example to illustrate this evolution. We initially developed eProtocol-insulin as a local quality improvement effort to manage stress hyperglycemia in the adult intensive care unit (ICU). We extended eProtocol-insulin use to translate our quality improvement results into usual clinical care at Intermountain Healthcare ICUs. We exported eProtocol-insulin to support research in other US and international institutions, and extended our work to the pediatric ICU. We iteratively refined eProtocol-insulin throughout these transitions, and incorporated new knowledge about managing stress hyperglycemia in the ICU. Based on our experience in the development and clinical use of eProtocols, we outline remaining challenges to eProtocol development, widespread distribution and use, and suggest a process for eProtocol development. Technical and regulatory issues, as well as standardization of protocol development, validation and maintenance, need to be addressed. Resolution of these issues should facilitate general use of eProtocols to improve patient care.
• 4.37

  Impact points

  How the Continuity of Care Document Can Advance Medical Research and Public Health.

  John D D'Amore, Dean F Sittig, Roberta B Ness

  American journal of public health. 03/2012;

  Electronic health records in the United States currently isolate digital information in proprietary, institutional databases. Experts have identified inadequate data exchange as a leading challenge to advancements in care quality and efficiency. Recent federal health information technology incentive... [more] Electronic health records in the United States currently isolate digital information in proprietary, institutional databases. Experts have identified inadequate data exchange as a leading challenge to advancements in care quality and efficiency. Recent federal health information technology incentives adopt an extensible standard, called the Continuity of Care Document (CCD), as a new basis for digital interoperability. Although this instrument was designed for individual provider communications, the CCD can be effectively reused for population-based research and public health. Three examples in this commentary demonstrate the potential of CCD aggregation and highlight required changes to existing public health and research practices. Transitioning to the use of this new interoperability standard should be a priority for public health investment, research, and development. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 15, 2012: e1-e4. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300640).

• Clinical Summarization Capabilities of Commercially-available and Internally-developed Electronic Health Records.

  Archana Laxmisan, Allison B McCoy, Adam Wright, Dean F Sittig

  Applied clinical informatics. 02/2012; 3(1):80-93.

  OBJECTIVE: Clinical summarization, the process by which relevant patient information is electronically summarized and presented at the point of care, is of increasing importance given the increasing volume of clinical data in electronic health record systems (EHRs). There is a paucity of research on... [more] OBJECTIVE: Clinical summarization, the process by which relevant patient information is electronically summarized and presented at the point of care, is of increasing importance given the increasing volume of clinical data in electronic health record systems (EHRs). There is a paucity of research on electronic clinical summarization, including the capabilities of currently available EHR systems. METHODS: We compared different aspects of general clinical summary screens used in twelve different EHR systems using a previously described conceptual model: AORTIS (Aggregation, Organization, Reduction, Interpretation and Synthesis). RESULTS: We found a wide variation in the EHRs' summarization capabilities: all systems were capable of simple aggregation and organization of limited clinical content, but only one demonstrated an ability to synthesize information from the data. CONCLUSION: Improvement of the clinical summary screen functionality for currently available EHRs is necessary. Further research should identify strategies and methods for creating easy to use, well-designed clinical summary screens that aggregate, organize and reduce all pertinent patient information as well as provide clinical interpretations and synthesis as required.
• 1.90

  Impact points

  Recommended practices for computerized clinical decision support and knowledge management in community settings: a qualitative study.

  Joan S Ash, Dean F Sittig, Kenneth P Guappone, Richard H Dykstra, Joshua Richardson, Adam Wright, James Carpenter, Carmit McMullen, Michael Shapiro, Arwen Bunce, Blackford Middleton

  BMC medical informatics and decision making. 02/2012; 12(1):6.

  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify recommended practices for computerized clinical decision support (CDS) development and implementation and for knowledge management (KM) processes in ambulatory clinics and community hospitals using commercial or locally developed system... [more] ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify recommended practices for computerized clinical decision support (CDS) development and implementation and for knowledge management (KM) processes in ambulatory clinics and community hospitals using commercial or locally developed systems in the U.S. METHODS: Guided by the Multiple Perspectives Framework, the authors conducted ethnographic field studies at two community hospitals and five ambulatory clinic organizations across the U.S. Using a Rapid Assessment Process, a multidisciplinary research team: gathered preliminary assessment data; conducted on-site interviews, observations, and field surveys; analyzed data using both template and grounded methods; and developed universal themes. A panel of experts produced recommended practices. RESULTS: The team identified ten themes related to CDS and KM. These include: 1) workflow; 2) knowledge management; 3) data as a foundation for CDS; 4) user computer interaction; 5) measurement and metrics; 6) governance; 7) translation for collaboration; 8) the meaning of CDS; 9) roles of special, essential people; and 10) communication, training, and support. Experts developed recommendations about each theme. The original Multiple Perspectives framework was modified to make explicit a new theoretical construct, that of Translational Interaction. CONCLUSIONS: These ten themes represent areas that need attention if a clinic or community hospital plans to implement and successfully utilize CDS. In addition, they have implications for workforce education, research, and national-level policy development. The Translational Interaction construct could guide future applied informatics research endeavors.
• 9.81

  Impact points

  Electronic health record-based messages to primary care providers: valuable information or just noise?

  Daniel R Murphy, Brian Reis, Himabindu Kadiyala, Kamal Hirani, Dean F Sittig, Myrna M Khan, Hardeep Singh

  Archives of internal medicine. 02/2012; 172(3):283-5.
• 7.27

  Impact points

  Rights and responsibilities of users of electronic health records.

  Dean F Sittig, Hardeep Singh

  CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne. 02/2012;
• 4.47

  Impact points

  Notifications received by primary care practitioners in electronic health records: a taxonomy and time analysis.

  Daniel R Murphy, Brian Reis, Dean F Sittig, Hardeep Singh

  The American journal of medicine. 02/2012; 125(2):209.e1-7.

  Asynchronous electronic health record (EHR)-based alerts used to notify practitioners via an inbox-like format rather than through synchronous computer "pop-up" messages are understudied. Our objective was to create an asynchronous alert taxonomy and measure the impact of different alert t... [more] Asynchronous electronic health record (EHR)-based alerts used to notify practitioners via an inbox-like format rather than through synchronous computer "pop-up" messages are understudied. Our objective was to create an asynchronous alert taxonomy and measure the impact of different alert types on practitioner workload. We quantified and categorized asynchronous alerts according to the information they conveyed and conducted a time-motion analysis to assess practitioner workload. We reviewed alert information transmitted to all 47 primary care practitioners (PCPs) at a large, tertiary care Veterans Affairs facility over 4 evenly spaced 28-day periods. An interdisciplinary team used content analysis to categorize alerts according to their conveyed information. We then created an alert taxonomy and used it to calculate the mean number of alerts of each type PCPs received each day. We conducted a time-motion study of 26 PCPs while they processed their alerts. We used these data to estimate the uninterrupted time practitioners spend processing alerts each day. We extracted 295,792 asynchronously generated alerts and created a taxonomy of 33 alert types categorized under 6 major categories: Test Results, Referrals, Note-Based Communication, Order Status, Patient Status Changes, and Incomplete Task Reminders. PCPs received a mean of 56.4 alerts/day containing new information. Based on 749 observed alert processing episodes, practitioners spent an estimated average of 49 minutes/day processing their alerts. PCPs receive a large number of EHR-based asynchronous alerts daily and spend significant time processing them. The utility of transmitting large quantities and varieties of alerts to PCPs warrants further investigation.

• Creating an oversight infrastructure for electronic health record-related patient safety hazards.

  Hardeep Singh, David C Classen, Dean F Sittig

  Journal of patient safety. 11/2011; 7(4):169-74.

  Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential quality and safety benefits. However, reports of EHR-related safety hazards are now emerging. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently sponsored an Institute of Medicine committee to evaluate how health informat... [more] Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential quality and safety benefits. However, reports of EHR-related safety hazards are now emerging. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently sponsored an Institute of Medicine committee to evaluate how health information technology use affects patient safety. In this article, we propose the creation of a national EHR oversight program to provide dedicated surveillance of EHR-related safety hazards and to promote learning from identified errors, close calls, and adverse events. The program calls for data gathering, investigation/analysis, and regulatory components. The first 2 functions will depend on institution-level EHR safety committees that will investigate all known EHR-related adverse events and near-misses and report them nationally using standardized methods. These committees should also perform routine safety self-assessments to proactively identify new risks. Nationally, we propose the long-term creation of a centralized, nonpartisan board with an appropriate legal and regulatory infrastructure to ensure the safety of EHRs. We discuss the rationale of the proposed oversight program and its potential organizational components and functions. These include mechanisms for robust data collection and analyses of all safety concerns using multiple methods that extend beyond reporting, multidisciplinary investigation of selected high-risk safety events, and enhanced coordination with other national agencies to facilitate broad dissemination of hazards information. Implementation of this proposed infrastructure can facilitate identification of EHR-related adverse events and errors and potentially create a safer and more effective EHR-based health care delivery system.
• 2.49

  Impact points

  Towards successful coordination of electronic health record based-referrals: a qualitative analysis.

  Sylvia J Hysong, Adol Esquivel, Dean F Sittig, Lindsey A Paul, Donna Espadas, Simran Singh, Hardeep Singh

  Implementation science : IS. 07/2011; 6:84.

  ABSTRACT: Successful subspecialty referrals require considerable coordination and interactive communication among the primary care provider (PCP), the subspecialist, and the patient, which may be challenging in the outpatient setting. Even when referrals are facilitated by electronic health records ... [more] ABSTRACT: Successful subspecialty referrals require considerable coordination and interactive communication among the primary care provider (PCP), the subspecialist, and the patient, which may be challenging in the outpatient setting. Even when referrals are facilitated by electronic health records (EHRs) (i.e., e-referrals), lapses in patient follow-up might occur. Although compelling reasons exist why referral coordination should be improved, little is known about which elements of the complex referral coordination process should be targeted for improvement. Using Okhuysen & Bechky's coordination framework, this paper aims to understand the barriers, facilitators, and suggestions for improving communication and coordination of EHR-based referrals in an integrated healthcare system. We conducted a qualitative study to understand coordination breakdowns related to e-referrals in an integrated healthcare system and examined work-system factors that affect the timely receipt of subspecialty care. We conducted interviews with seven subject matter experts and six focus groups with a total of 30 PCPs and subspecialists at two tertiary care Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. Using techniques from grounded theory and content analysis, we identified organizational themes that affected the referral process. Four themes emerged: lack of an institutional referral policy, lack of standardization in certain referral procedures, ambiguity in roles and responsibilities, and inadequate resources to adapt and respond to referral requests effectively. Marked differences in PCPs' and subspecialists' communication styles and individual mental models of the referral processes likely precluded the development of a shared mental model to facilitate coordination and successful referral completion. Notably, very few barriers related to the EHR were reported. Despite facilitating information transfer between PCPs and subspecialists, e-referrals remain prone to coordination breakdowns. Clear referral policies, well-defined roles and responsibilities for key personnel, standardized procedures and communication protocols, and adequate human resources must be in place before implementing an EHR to facilitate referrals.
• 9.81

  Impact points

  Defining health information technology-related errors: new developments since to err is human.

  Dean F Sittig, Hardeep Singh

  Archives of internal medicine. 07/2011; 171(14):1281-4.

  Despite the promise of health information technology (HIT), recent literature has revealed possible safety hazards associated with its use. The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT recently sponsored an Institute of Medicine committee to synthesize evidence and experience from the field on how... [more] Despite the promise of health information technology (HIT), recent literature has revealed possible safety hazards associated with its use. The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT recently sponsored an Institute of Medicine committee to synthesize evidence and experience from the field on how HIT affects patient safety. To lay the groundwork for defining, measuring, and analyzing HIT-related safety hazards, we propose that HIT-related error occurs anytime HIT is unavailable for use, malfunctions during use, is used incorrectly by someone, or when HIT interacts with another system component incorrectly, resulting in data being lost or incorrectly entered, displayed, or transmitted. These errors, or the decisions that result from them, significantly increase the risk of adverse events and patient harm. We describe how a sociotechnical approach can be used to understand the complex origins of HIT errors, which may have roots in rapidly evolving technological, professional, organizational, and policy initiatives.
• 28.90

  Impact points

  Application of electronic health records to the Joint Commission's 2011 National Patient Safety Goals.

  Ryan P Radecki, Dean F Sittig

  JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 07/2011; 306(1):92-3.

• Improving erythropoietin-stimulating agent administration in a multihospital system through quality improvement initiatives: a pre-post comparison study.

  Mano S Selvan, Dean F Sittig, Eric J Thomas, Cody C Arnold, Robert E Murphy, M Michael Shabot

  Journal of patient safety. 06/2011; 7(3):127-32.

  : Erythropoietin-stimulating agent (ESA) use is associated with serious adverse events in patients with hemoglobin levels of 12 g/dL or higher at the time of administration. Our aim was to determine whether inappropriate ESA use has changed over time since the implementation of new drug warning aler... [more] : Erythropoietin-stimulating agent (ESA) use is associated with serious adverse events in patients with hemoglobin levels of 12 g/dL or higher at the time of administration. Our aim was to determine whether inappropriate ESA use has changed over time since the implementation of new drug warning alerts and local quality improvement initiatives. : We performed a retrospective review of ESA administration practices at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (Houston, Tex). Our primary outcome measure was the proportion of inpatient encounters (one entire inpatient hospital stay) with 1 or more inappropriate uses of ESA (defined as ESA administration for a patient with hemoglobin ≥12 g/dL). We analyzed the potential influence of local and national interventions on ESA utilization patterns. : Between May 1, 2006, and May 31, 2009, 15,642 inpatients were treated with ESAs in our system. We classified inpatients as before intervention (n = 6350) and after intervention (n = 9292) based on the date of implementation of a synchronous alert in the electronic medical record. We found a significant decrease in inappropriate ESA administration before to after intervention (9.03%-6.21%; P < 0.001), which can be translated into a 31.25% (05% CI, 21.93%-40.75%) relative risk reduction. Reduced odds ratios for inappropriate ESA use changed little after controlling for relevant demographic variables and clinical characteristics. : Following several quality improvement interventions to improve patient safety related to ESA use, we found a significant reduction in inappropriate ESA administration to inpatients in a large health care system.
• 3.97

  Impact points

  Clinical decision support in small community practice settings: a case study.

  Joan S Ash, Dean F Sittig, Adam Wright, Carmit McMullen, Michael Shapiro, Arwen Bunce, Blackford Middleton

  Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 04/2011; 18(6):879-82.

  Using an eight-dimensional model for studying socio-technical systems, a multidisciplinary team of investigators identified barriers and facilitators to clinical decision support (CDS) implementation in a community setting, the Mid-Valley Independent Physicians Association in the Salem, Oregon area.... [more] Using an eight-dimensional model for studying socio-technical systems, a multidisciplinary team of investigators identified barriers and facilitators to clinical decision support (CDS) implementation in a community setting, the Mid-Valley Independent Physicians Association in the Salem, Oregon area. The team used the Rapid Assessment Process, which included nine formal interviews with CDS stakeholders, and observation of 27 clinicians. The research team, which has studied 21 healthcare sites of various sizes over the past 12&emsp14;years, believes this site is an excellent example of an organization which is using a commercially available electronic-health-record system with CDS well. The eight-dimensional model proved useful as an organizing structure for the evaluation.
• 3.97

  Impact points

  Development and evaluation of a comprehensive clinical decision support taxonomy: comparison of front-end tools in commercial and internally developed electronic health record systems.

  Adam Wright, Dean F Sittig, Joan S Ash, Joshua Feblowitz, Seth Meltzer, Carmit McMullen, Ken Guappone, Jim Carpenter, Joshua Richardson, Linas Simonaitis, R Scott Evans, W Paul Nichol, Blackford Middleton

  Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 03/2011; 18(3):232-42.

  Clinical decision support (CDS) is a valuable tool for improving healthcare quality and lowering costs. However, there is no comprehensive taxonomy of types of CDS and there has been limited research on the availability of various CDS tools across current electronic health record (EHR) systems. To d... [more] Clinical decision support (CDS) is a valuable tool for improving healthcare quality and lowering costs. However, there is no comprehensive taxonomy of types of CDS and there has been limited research on the availability of various CDS tools across current electronic health record (EHR) systems. To develop and validate a taxonomy of front-end CDS tools and to assess support for these tools in major commercial and internally developed EHRs. We used a modified Delphi approach with a panel of 11 decision support experts to develop a taxonomy of 53 front-end CDS tools. Based on this taxonomy, a survey on CDS tools was sent to a purposive sample of commercial EHR vendors (n=9) and leading healthcare institutions with internally developed state-of-the-art EHRs (n=4). Responses were received from all healthcare institutions and 7 of 9 EHR vendors (response rate: 85%). All 53 types of CDS tools identified in the taxonomy were found in at least one surveyed EHR system, but only 8 functions were present in all EHRs. Medication dosing support and order facilitators were the most commonly available classes of decision support, while expert systems (eg, diagnostic decision support, ventilator management suggestions) were the least common. We developed and validated a comprehensive taxonomy of front-end CDS tools. A subsequent survey of commercial EHR vendors and leading healthcare institutions revealed a small core set of common CDS tools, but identified significant variability in the remainder of clinical decision support content.
• 4.47

  Impact points

  Legal, ethical, and financial dilemmas in electronic health record adoption and use.

  Dean F Sittig, Hardeep Singh

  Pediatrics. 03/2011; 127(4):e1042-7.

  Electronic health records (EHRs) facilitate several innovations capable of reforming health care. Despite their promise, many currently unanswered legal, ethical, and financial questions threaten the widespread adoption and use of EHRs. Key legal dilemmas that must be addressed in the near-term pert... [more] Electronic health records (EHRs) facilitate several innovations capable of reforming health care. Despite their promise, many currently unanswered legal, ethical, and financial questions threaten the widespread adoption and use of EHRs. Key legal dilemmas that must be addressed in the near-term pertain to the extent of clinicians' responsibilities for reviewing the entire computer-accessible clinical synopsis from multiple clinicians and institutions, the liabilities posed by overriding clinical decision support warnings and alerts, and mechanisms for clinicians to publically report potential EHR safety issues. Ethical dilemmas that need additional discussion relate to opt-out provisions that exclude patients from electronic record storage, sale of deidentified patient data by EHR vendors, adolescent control of access to their data, and use of electronic data repositories to redesign the nation's health care delivery and payment mechanisms on the basis of statistical analyses. Finally, one overwhelming financial question is who should pay for EHR implementation because most users and current owners of these systems will not receive the majority of benefits. The authors recommend that key stakeholders begin discussing these issues in a national forum. These actions can help identify and prioritize solutions to the key legal, ethical, and financial dilemmas discussed, so that widespread, safe, effective, interoperable EHRs can help transform health care.
• 2.43

  Impact points

  Summarization of clinical information: a conceptual model.

  Joshua C Feblowitz, Adam Wright, Hardeep Singh, Lipika Samal, Dean F Sittig

  Journal of biomedical informatics. 03/2011; 44(4):688-99.

  To provide high-quality and safe care, clinicians must be able to optimally collect, distill, and interpret patient information. Despite advances in text summarization, only limited research exists on clinical summarization, the complex and heterogeneous process of gathering, organizing and presenti... [more] To provide high-quality and safe care, clinicians must be able to optimally collect, distill, and interpret patient information. Despite advances in text summarization, only limited research exists on clinical summarization, the complex and heterogeneous process of gathering, organizing and presenting patient data in various forms. To develop a conceptual model for describing and understanding clinical summarization in both computer-independent and computer-supported clinical tasks. Based on extensive literature review and clinical input, we developed a conceptual model of clinical summarization to lay the foundation for future research on clinician workflow and automated summarization using electronic health records (EHRs). Our model identifies five distinct stages of clinical summarization: (1) Aggregation, (2) Organization, (3) Reduction and/or Transformation, (4) Interpretation and (5) Synthesis (AORTIS). The AORTIS model describes the creation of complex, task-specific clinical summaries and provides a framework for clinical workflow analysis and directed research on test results review, clinical documentation and medical decision-making. We describe a hypothetical case study to illustrate the application of this model in the primary care setting. Both practicing physicians and clinical informaticians need a structured method of developing, studying and evaluating clinical summaries in support of a wide range of clinical tasks. Our proposed model of clinical summarization provides a potential pathway to advance knowledge in this area and highlights directions for further research.
• 1.90

  Impact points

  Comparison of clinical knowledge management capabilities of commercially-available and leading internally-developed electronic health records.

  Dean F Sittig, Adam Wright, Seth Meltzer, Linas Simonaitis, R Scott Evans, W Paul Nichol, Joan S Ash, Blackford Middleton

  BMC medical informatics and decision making. 02/2011; 11:13.

  We have carried out an extensive qualitative research program focused on the barriers and facilitators to successful adoption and use of various features of advanced, state-of-the-art electronic health records (EHRs) within large, academic, teaching facilities with long-standing EHR research and dev... [more] We have carried out an extensive qualitative research program focused on the barriers and facilitators to successful adoption and use of various features of advanced, state-of-the-art electronic health records (EHRs) within large, academic, teaching facilities with long-standing EHR research and development programs. We have recently begun investigating smaller, community hospitals and out-patient clinics that rely on commercially-available EHRs. We sought to assess whether the current generation of commercially-available EHRs are capable of providing the clinical knowledge management features, functions, tools, and techniques required to deliver and maintain the clinical decision support (CDS) interventions required to support the recently defined "meaningful use" criteria. We developed and fielded a 17-question survey to representatives from nine commercially available EHR vendors and four leading internally developed EHRs. The first part of the survey asked basic questions about the vendor's EHR. The second part asked specifically about the CDS-related system tools and capabilities that each vendor provides. The final section asked about clinical content. All of the vendors and institutions have multiple modules capable of providing clinical decision support interventions to clinicians. The majority of the systems were capable of performing almost all of the key knowledge management functions we identified. If these well-designed commercially-available systems are coupled with the other key socio-technical concepts required for safe and effective EHR implementation and use, and organizations have access to implementable clinical knowledge, we expect that the transformation of the healthcare enterprise that so many have predicted, is achievable using commercially-available, state-of-the-art EHRs.

• Hospital and Health Information Systems - Current Perspectives. Contribution of the IMIA Health Information Systems Working Group.

  C Lovis, M Ball, C Boyer, P L Elkin, K Ishikawa, C Jaffe, A March, H Marin, J Mykkänen, O Rienhoff, J Silva, D F Sittig, J Talmon

  Yearbook of medical informatics. 01/2011; 6(1):73-82.

  To celebrate over 30 years of health information systems' (HIS) evolution by bringing together pioneers in the field, members of the next generation of leaders, and government officials from several developing nations in Africa to discuss the past, present, and future of HISs. Participants gathe... [more] To celebrate over 30 years of health information systems' (HIS) evolution by bringing together pioneers in the field, members of the next generation of leaders, and government officials from several developing nations in Africa to discuss the past, present, and future of HISs. Participants gathered in Le Franschhoek, South Africa for a 2 1/2 day working conference consisting of scientific presentations followed by several concurrent breakout sessions. A small writing group prepared draft statements representing their positions on various topics of discussion which were circulated and revised by the entire group. Many new tools, techniques and technologies were described and discussed in great detail. Interestingly, all of the key themes identified in the first HIS meeting held over 30 years ago are still of vital importance today: Patient Centered design, Clinical User Support, Real-time Education, Human-computer Factors and Measuring Clinical User Performance, Meaningful use. As we continue to work to develop next-generation HISs, we must remember the lessons of the past as we strive to develop the solutions for tomorrow.
• 2.65

  Impact points

  Follow-up actions on electronic referral communication in a multispecialty outpatient setting.

  Hardeep Singh, Adol Esquivel, Dean F Sittig, Daniel Murphy, Himabindu Kadiyala, Rachel Schiesser, Donna Espadas, Laura A Petersen

  Journal of general internal medicine. 01/2011; 26(1):64-9.

  Electronic health records (EHR) enable transmission and tracking of referrals between primary-care practitioners (PCPs) and subspecialists. We used an EHR to examine follow-up actions on electronic referral communication in a large multispecialty VA facility. We retrieved outpatient referrals to fiv... [more] Electronic health records (EHR) enable transmission and tracking of referrals between primary-care practitioners (PCPs) and subspecialists. We used an EHR to examine follow-up actions on electronic referral communication in a large multispecialty VA facility. We retrieved outpatient referrals to five subspecialties between October 2006 and December 2007, and queried the EHR to determine their status: completed, discontinued (returned to PCP), or unresolved (no action taken by subspecialist). All unresolved referrals, and random samples of discontinued and completed referrals were reviewed to determine whether subspecialists took follow-up actions (i.e., schedule appointments anytime in the future) within 30 days of referral-receipt. For referrals without timely follow-up, we determined whether inaction was supported by any predetermined justifiable reasons or associated with certain referral characteristics. We also reviewed if PCPs took the required action on returned information. Of 61,931 referrals, 22,535 were discontinued (36.4%), and 474 were unresolved (0.8%). We selected 412 discontinued referrals randomly for review. Of these, 52% lacked follow-up actions within 30 days. Appropriate justifications for inaction were documented in 69.8% (150/215) of those without action and included lack of prerequisite testing by the PCP and subspecialist opinion that no intervention was required despite referral. We estimated that at 30 days, 6.3% of all referrals were associated with an unexplained lack of follow-up actions by subspecialists. Conversely, 7.4% of discontinued referrals returned to PCPs were associated with an unexplained lack of follow-up. Although the EHR facilitates transmission of valuable information at the PCP-subspecialist interface, unexplained communication breakdowns in the referral process persist in a subset of cases.