Challenges in patient safety improvement research in the era of electronic health records

In this paper, we use a case study involving a project on missed/delayed follow-up of test results to discuss real-world challenges in using EHR data for patient safety research. We identify three types of challenges that pose as barriers to advance patient safety improvement research, and discuss the complexity of these challenges, all of which are unlikely to be unique to this project, and outline some key next steps that must be taken to support research that uses EHR data to improve safety.

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Electronic Health Record Safety: Developing Framework-Based Measures and Identifying Best Practices

R21 LM 012448 (PI – Allison B. McCoy, PhD 2016-2018) Billions of dollars have been spent on implementing health information technology (HIT), including electronic health records (EHRs) with the promise of improved patient safety and reduction of healthcare costs, but recent reports have highlighted potential challenges and unintended consequences of […]

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Pew Charitable Trusts and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) co-hosted Health IT Safety Day

On Dec. 6, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) co-hosted Health IT Safety Day, a meeting designed to shed light on the importance of enhancing the safety of electronic health records. Speakers from hospitals, academia, patient organizations, and the federal […]

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New Unintended Adverse Consequences of Electronic Health Records

Although the health information technology industry has made considerable progress in the design, development, implementation, and use of electronic health records (EHRs), the lofty expectations of the early pioneers have not been met.

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A Socio-Technical Approach to Preventing, Mitigating, and Recovering from Ransomware Attacks

In this manuscript, we discuss a socio-technical approach to address ransomware and outline four overarching steps that organizations can undertake to secure an electronic health record (EHR) system and the underlying computing infrastructure.

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Variation in high-priority drug-drug interaction alerts across institutions and electronic health records

Currently, there is no standard of care covering which DDI alerts to implement or how to display them to providers. Opportunities to improve DDI alerting include using differential displays based on DDI severity, establishing improved lists of clinically significant DDIs, and thoroughly reviewing organizational implementation decisions regarding DDIs.

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Problem list completeness in electronic health records: A multi-site study and assessment of success factors

OBJECTIVE: To assess problem list completeness using an objective measure across a range of sites, and to identify success factors for problemlist completeness. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic health record data and interviews at ten healthcare organizations within the United States, United Kingdom, and Argentina who use […]

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Adam Wright among 13 Fellows Inducted into American College of Medical Informatics

Following their recent election, 13 new Fellows, including our own Adam Wright, PhD, will be inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) on Nov. 15 at ceremonies during the AMIA 2015 Annual Symposium. AMIA’s Annual Symposium is the premier educational event in the field. The symposium presents leading-edge […]

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ISQua Debate: Health Information Technology is already improving healthcare safety and current regulation around it is sufficient

ISQua Education is delighted to present our Global Debate for 2015: “Health Information Technology is already improving healthcare safety and current regulation around it is sufficient“.   Substantial evidence exists to show that HIT can improve safety, and it is being increasingly widely adopted in many developed countries. While there […]

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Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support: An Implementer’s Guide, 2nd Edition

Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support: An Implementer’s Guide, 2nd Edition Co-published by HIMSS, the Scottsdale Institute, AMIA, AMDIS and SHM, this second edition of the authoritative guide to CDS implementation has been substantially enhanced with expanded and updated guidance on using CDS interventions to improve care delivery and outcomes. […]

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