Emergency department revisits: a nation-wide database analysis on the same and different hospital revisits.

OBJECTIVES: Emergency department (ED) revisits had traditionally been used as a quality indicator, but focused more on the same hospital revisit (SHRV). Our study investigated the 72-hour ED revisits on SHRV and different hospital revisits (DHRV), and explored the predictors of DHRV. METHODS: 72-hour ED revisits were analyzed using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database that contained one-third patient records from 2012 to 2013. Rates of SHRV and DHRV were calculated and compared among levels of hospital accreditation. Linear regression analyses were used to measure the correlation between revisit rates and average monthly volumes of the index ED. Multilevel logistic analyses were performed to evaluate the predictors of DHRV. RESULTS: There were 4 065 215 index ED visits. Of them, 234 826 (5.8%) were associated with 72-hour revisits and 36.7% of them occurred at different institutions. The revisit rates showed differences across distinct hospital levels. DHRV rates had significant inverse correlation with the average monthly volume of the index ED. Independent predictors associated with the increased odds of DHRV were: ED visits on weekend or holiday, or the index ED being at a local hospital. CONCLUSIONS: About one in three ED revisits occurred in another hospital. SHRV rate alone would inevitably underestimate the true revisit rate. DHRV is associated with the hospital level and annual ED volume, and there is increased likelihood of DHRV if patient's index ED visit being a local hospital.

Sexually transmitted infection trends among gay or bisexual men from a clinic-based sentinel surveillance system in British Columbia, Canada.

INTRODUCTION: We described trends for sexually transmitted infections (STI) among gay/bisexual men in British Columbia, Canada, using a sentinel site surveillance approach. METHODS: Using data from an electronic charting system, we included gay/bisexual men who visited high-volume STI clinics from 2000 to 2013. Diagnosis rates and incidence density were calculated for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis C, genital herpes, and genital warts. Incidence density was estimated among repeat testers who converted from a negative to positive test result. We also conducted Poisson regression analysis to determine factors that were associated with increased incidence rates. RESULTS: A total of 47,170 visits were identified for gay/bisexual men during our time frame. The median age was 34 years (interquartile range, 27-43 years), and most clients were seen in Vancouver. Although trends for most STI were stable, diagnoses of gonorrhea and syphilis have risen steadily in recent years. Coinfection with HIV was associated with higher gonorrhea and syphilis rates in the Poisson regression model. In addition, visiting a Vancouver clinic and younger age were associated with increased incidence. CONCLUSIONS: Our clinic-based sentinel surveillance system found increasing trends for gonorrhea and syphilis among gay/bisexual men but not for other STI in British Columbia. Further investigation is required to explore the syndemic effects of syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV. This new platform will be a valuable tool for ongoing monitoring of STI and targeting prevention efforts.

Evidence-based management of ambulatory electronic health record system implementation: an assessment of conceptual support and qualitative evidence.

OBJECTIVES: While electronic health record (EHR) systems have potential to drive improvements in healthcare, a majority of EHR implementations fall short of expectations. Shortcomings in implementations are often due to organizational issues around the implementation process rather than technological problems. Evidence from both the information technology and healthcare management literature can be applied to improve the likelihood of implementation success, but the translation of this evidence into practice has not been widespread. Our objective was to comprehensively study and synthesize best practices for managing ambulatory EHR system implementation in healthcare organizations, highlighting applicable management theories and successful strategies. METHODS: We held 45 interviews with key informants in six U.S. healthcare organizations purposively selected based on reported success with ambulatory EHR implementation. We also conducted six focus groups comprised of 37 physicians. Interview and focus group transcripts were analyzed using both deductive and inductive methods to answer research questions and explore emergent themes. RESULTS: We suggest that successful management of ambulatory EHR implementation can be guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement (QI) model. While participants did not acknowledge nor emphasize use of this model, we found evidence that successful implementation practices could be framed using the PDSA model. Additionally, successful sites had three strategies in common: 1) use of evidence from published health information technology (HIT) literature emphasizing implementation facilitators; 2) focusing on workflow; and 3) incorporating critical management factors that facilitate implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Organizations seeking to improve ambulatory EHR implementation processes can use frameworks such as the PDSA QI model to guide efforts and provide a means to formally accommodate new evidence over time. Implementing formal management strategies and incorporating new evidence through the PDSA model is a key element of evidence-based management and a crucial way for organizations to position themselves to proactively address implementation and use challenges before they are exacerbated.

Indicadores de saúde auditiva em Minas Gerais: um estudo por macrorregião / Hearing Health indicators in the State of Minas Gerais: a study by macroregion

OBJETIVO: Analisar a organização da Rede Estadual de Atenção à Saúde Auditiva em Minas Gerais, no ano de 2009, tendo como referência os indicadores de fluxo/atenção ao usuário, de gestão do sistema (metas) e configuração de procedimentos e equipes de referência. MÉTODOS: Estudo de abordagem quantitativa, analítico transversal, que considerou cinco variáveis centrais e nove variáveis complementares, para compreender a organização da Rede nas macrorregiões de saúde. Os dados foram obtidos no Sistema de Informação Ambulatorial e por meio de relatórios da Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de Minas Gerais. Foi realizada análise descritiva das variáveis e, para verificar a correlação entre elas, utilizou-se o Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson e o teste t de Student. RESULTADOS: Observou-se, entre as macrorregiões, variação no comportamento dos indicadores analisados, sendo que alguns Serviços de Atenção à Saúde Auditiva (SASA) parecem assumir serviços de outras regiões. Em todo o Estado, o valor médio de sessões de terapia fonoaudiológica por paciente, com Aparelho de Amplificação Sonora Individual (AASI), nas macrorregiões, foi de 10. No entanto, a média de produção de terapia foi inferior à média de adaptação de AASI, na maioria das macrorregiões. A grande demanda de adaptação parece estar orientando a organização dos serviços, que tem privilegiado a adaptação e não o acompanhamento, por meio das sessões de terapia individual. CONCLUSÃO: Acredita-se que o maior desafio da Rede seja fortalecer a dimensão da longitudinalidade do cuidado, descentralizadamente, por meio, principalmente, do serviço de fonoaudiologia descentralizada, propiciando maior efetividade aos serviços.

PURPOSE: Analysis of the organization of the Hearing Health Care Network of the State of Minas Gerais in 2009 using as reference the user flow/care indicators, system management (targets), procedure configuration and reference teams. METHODS: Study of quantitative and cross-sectional analytical approach, considering five core variables and nine supplementary variables to understand the organization of the Network in the health macro-regions. The data were obtained from the Outpatient Information System and through reports of the Secretary of Health of the State of Minas Gerais. A descriptive analysis of the variables was made and the Pearson correlation coefficient and Student t test were used to verify the correlation between them. RESULTS: It was observed that among the macro-regions there was a variation in the behavior of the analyzed indicators, whereby some Hearing Health Care Units (HHCU) seem to assume the services of other regions. Statewide, the average value of sessions of speech therapy per patient with Hearing aid (HA) in the macro-regions was 10. However, the average therapy production was lower than the average HA adaptation in most of the macro-regions. The great demand for adaptation seems to guide the organization of the services, which has favored the adaptation and not the follow-up, through personal therapy sessions. CONCLUSION: It is believed that the greatest challenge of the Hearing Health Care Network of the State of Minas Gerais is to strengthen the longitudinal dimension of care, mainly through a decentralized speech therapy service, in order to improve the efficiency of the services.

Types and origins of diagnostic errors in primary care settings.

IMPORTANCE: Diagnostic errors are an understudied aspect of ambulatory patient safety. OBJECTIVES: To determine the types of diseases missed and the diagnostic processes involved in cases of confirmed diagnostic errors in primary care settings and to determine whether record reviews could shed light on potential contributory factors to inform future interventions. DESIGN: We reviewed medical records of diagnostic errors detected at 2 sites through electronic health record-based triggers. Triggers were based on patterns of patients' unexpected return visits after an initial primary care index visit. SETTING: A large urban Veterans Affairs facility and a large integrated private health care system. PARTICIPANTS: Our study focused on 190 unique instances of diagnostic errors detected in primary care visits between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Through medical record reviews, we collected data on presenting symptoms at the index visit, types of diagnoses missed, process breakdowns, potential contributory factors, and potential for harm from errors. RESULTS: In 190 cases, a total of 68 unique diagnoses were missed. Most missed diagnoses were common conditions in primary care, with pneumonia (6.7%), decompensated congestive heart failure (5.7%), acute renal failure (5.3%), cancer (primary) (5.3%), and urinary tract infection or pyelonephritis (4.8%) being most common. Process breakdowns most frequently involved the patient-practitioner clinical encounter (78.9%) but were also related to referrals (19.5%), patient-related factors (16.3%), follow-up and tracking of diagnostic information (14.7%), and performance and interpretation of diagnostic tests (13.7%). A total of 43.7% of cases involved more than one of these processes. Patient-practitioner encounter breakdowns were primarily related to problems with history-taking (56.3%), examination (47.4%), and/or ordering diagnostic tests for further workup (57.4%). Most errors were associated with potential for moderate to severe harm. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Diagnostic errors identified in our study involved a large variety of common diseases and had significant potential for harm. Most errors were related to process breakdowns in the patient-practitioner clinical encounter. Preventive interventions should target common contributory factors across diagnoses, especially those that involve data gathering and synthesis in the patient-practitioner encounter.

Applying the clinical adoption framework to evaluate the impact of an ambulatory electronic medical record.

This paper describes the application of the Clinical Adoption (CA) Framework to evaluate the impact of a recently deployed electronic medical record (EMR) in a Canadian healthcare organization. The CA Framework dimensions evaluated were EMR quality, use and net benefits at the micro level; and people, organization and implementation at the meso level. The study involved clinical and support staff from two ambulatory care clinics, and managers and technical staff from the organization. A number of issues were identified at both levels of the CA Framework that had affected EMR adoption in the two clinics. Some perceived benefits in care coordination and efficiency were reported despite challenges that arose from early deployment decisions. There were five lessons that could be applied to other ambulatory care settings. The CA Framework has proved useful in making sense of ways that EMR can add value to the organization.

Same organization, same electronic health records (EHRs) system, different use: exploring the linkage between practice member communication patterns and EHR use patterns in an ambulatory care setting.

OBJECTIVE: Despite efforts made by ambulatory care organizations to standardize the use of electronic health records (EHRs), practices often incorporate these systems into their work differently from each other. One potential factor contributing to these differences is within-practice communication patterns. The authors explore the linkage between within-practice communication patterns and practice-level EHR use patterns. DESIGN: Qualitative study of six practices operating within the same multi-specialty ambulatory care organization using the same EHR system. Semistructured interviews and direct observation were conducted with all physicians, nurses, medical assistants, practice managers, and non-clinical staff from each practice. MEASUREMENTS: An existing model of practice relationships was used to analyze communication patterns within the practices. Practice-level EHR use was defined and analyzed as the ways in which a practice uses an EHR as a collective or a group-including the degree of feature use, level of EHR-enabled communication, and frequency that EHR use changes in a practice. Interview and observation data were analyzed for themes. Based on these themes, within-practice communication patterns were categorized as fragmented or cohesive, and practice-level EHR use patterns were categorized as heterogeneous or homogeneous. Practices where EHR use was uniformly high across all users were further categorized as having standardized EHR use. Communication patterns and EHR use patterns were compared across the six practices. RESULTS: Within-practice communication patterns were associated with practice-level EHR use patterns. In practices where communication patterns were fragmented, EHR use was heterogeneous. In practices where communication patterns were cohesive, EHR use was homogeneous. Additional analysis revealed that practices that had achieved standardized EHR use (uniformly high EHR use across all users) exhibited high levels of mindfulness and respectful interaction, whereas practices that were furthest from achieving standardized EHR use exhibited low levels of mindfulness and respectful interaction. CONCLUSION: Within-practice communication patterns provide a unique perspective for exploring the issue of standardization in EHR use. A major fallacy of setting homogeneous EHR use as the goal for practice-level EHR use is that practices with uniformly low EHR use could be considered successful. Achieving uniformly high EHR use across all users in a practice is more consistent with the goals of current EHR adoption and use efforts. It was found that some communication patterns among practice members may enable more standardized EHR use than others. Understanding the linkage between communication patterns and EHR use can inform understanding of the human element in EHR use and may provide key lessons for the implementation of EHRs and other health information technologies.

Social disparities in internet patient portal use in diabetes: evidence that the digital divide extends beyond access.

The authors investigated use of the internet-based patient portal, kp.org, among a well-characterized population of adults with diabetes in Northern California. Among 14,102 diverse patients, 5671 (40%) requested a password for the patient portal. Of these, 4311 (76%) activated their accounts, and 3922 (69%), logged on to the patient portal one or more times; 2990 (53%) participants viewed laboratory results, 2132 (38%) requested medication refills, 2093 (37%) sent email messages, and 835 (15%) made medical appointments. After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, immigration status, educational attainment, and employment status, compared to non-Hispanic Caucasians, African-Americans and Latinos had higher odds of never logging on (OR 2.6 (2.3 to 2.9); OR 2.3 (1.9 to 2.6)), as did those without an educational degree (OR compared to college graduates, 2.3 (1.9 to 2.7)). Those most at risk for poor diabetes outcomes may fall further behind as health systems increasingly rely on the internet and limit current modes of access and communication.

Electronic medical record use in pediatric primary care.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize patterns of electronic medical record (EMR) use at pediatric primary care acute visits. DESIGN: Direct observational study of 529 acute visits with 27 experienced pediatric clinician users. MEASUREMENTS: For each 20 s interval and at each stage of the visit according to the Davis Observation Code, we recorded whether the physician was communicating with the family only, using the computer while communicating, or using the computer without communication. Regression models assessed the impact of clinician, patient and visit characteristics on overall visit length, time spent interacting with families, and time spent using the computer while interacting. RESULTS: The mean overall visit length was 11:30 (min:sec) with 9:06 spent in the exam room. Clinicians used the EMR during 27% of exam room time and at all stages of the visit (interacting, chatting, and building rapport; history taking; formulation of the diagnosis and treatment plan; and discussing prevention) except the physical exam. Communication with the family accompanied 70% of EMR use. In regression models, computer documentation outside the exam room was associated with visits that were 11% longer (p=0.001), and female clinicians spent more time using the computer while communicating (p=0.003). LIMITATIONS: The 12 study practices shared one EMR. CONCLUSIONS: Among pediatric clinicians with EMR experience, conversation accompanies most EMR use. Our results suggest that efforts to improve EMR usability and clinician EMR training should focus on use in the context of doctor-patient communication. Further study of the impact of documentation inside versus outside the exam room on productivity is warranted.

[The feasibility of outpatient data used for respiratory syndromic surveillance in general hospital].

OBJECTIVE: To find out the data sources of respiratory syndromes and their components from the outpatients of general hospitals and to describe the time distribution and mutual relations of different respiratory syndromes. Feasibility of respiratory syndromes used for early warning surveillance on respiratory infectious disease was also under research. METHODS: Retrospective investigation on Hospital Information System (HIS) was implemented in a general hospital in Guangzhou, 2005, and data of outpatients was collected and classified into different syndromes. The respiratory syndromes with its time distribution similar to influenza like illness (ILI), were selected, and cross-correlation analyses were conducted to investigate the feasibility of respiratory syndromes for early warning surveillance on respiratory infection diseases (influenza as an example). RESULTS: Primary sub-classification of respiratory syndromes in outpatient department would include upper respiratory infection (URI) (51.20%), trachitis/bronchitis (18.80%), asthma (17.52%), etc. Pulmonary infection accounted for only 2.26%. Time distributions of URI, trachitis/bronchitis, pulmonary infection, cough and asthma in outpatient department, X-ray tests and pneumonia/acute respiratory distress syndromes (ARDSs) in outpatient X-ray room were similar, with two peaks observed. Cross-correlation functions were calculated with the data sets of 1(st) - 28(th) week. The most significant correlation was detected between the time series of outpatient pulmonary infections and ILIs moved 4 weeks backward (r = 0.739, P < 0.01), and that was detected between URIs and ILIs moved 5 weeks backward (r = 0.714, P < 0.01). Correlation between X-ray tests, pneumonia/ARDSs in outpatient X-ray room and ILIs was the strongest when ILIs time series moved 1 week backward (r = 0.858, P < 0.001;r = 0.821, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Outpatient data from HIS system in general hospital could be applied to syndromic surveillance on respiratory diseases. For early warning epidemics or outbreaks of influenza or other respiratory infectious diseases, data of outpatient pulmonary infection appeared to be the most feasible for its specificity and timeliness, followed by URI and cough. X-ray tests and pneumonia/ARDSs in outpatient X-ray findings were important supplementary to verify the respiratory disease epidemics or outbreaks for its good specificity, but with no advantage for early warning.

Measurement of the utilization of an installed electronic health record.

For the past decade, adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) has been proposed as one of the most viable approaches to improving the United States health care system. Although there is evidence that EHR adoption is slowly progressing, current methods of assessing adoption have yielded significant variance in estimates of EHR utilization. We conducted an environmental scan consisting of a review of the literature as well as a series of discussions with health center and health center network representatives and experts in the field to understand the current state of EHR adoption and use in the United States and assess the feasibility of developing a systematic approach to tracking EHR usage.

Measuring use of electronic health record functionality using system audit information.

Meaningful and efficient methods for measuring Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption and functional usage patterns have recently become important for hospitals, clinics, and health care networks in the United State due to recent government initiatives to increase EHR use. To date, surveys have been the method of choice to measure EHR adoption. This paper describes another method for measuring EHR adoption which capitalizes on audit logs, which are often common components of modern EHRs. An Audit Data Mart is described which identified EHR functionality within 836 Departments, within 22 Hospitals and 170 clinics at Intermountain Healthcare, a large integrated delivery system. The Audit Data Mart successfully identified important and differing EHR functional usage patterns. These patterns were useful in strategic planning, tracking EHR implementations, and will likely be utilized to assist in documentation of "Meaningful Use" of EHR functionality.

A usability study of patient-friendly terminology in an EMR system.

Misunderstandings due to terminology differences between health care providers and consumers may cause communication problems and adversely affect consumer access to health information, resulting in poor satisfaction for patients and providers. To investigate the usage patterns of consumer health vocabulary and evaluate controlled terminologies used in electronic medical records, we conducted a usability study of patient-friendly terms used in an ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) and associated patient web portal. After identifying 340 unique diagnosis term/patient-friendly term pairs, we mapped the term pairs determined by UMLS to be pairs of synonyms, near-synonyms, or closely-related terms to the keywords of search queries extracted from a consumer health information web portal to learn the comparative frequency of use of members of each pair by consumers. We found out that use of patient-friendly terms could help to bridge the language gap between providers and consumers but not always. In some cases the professional diagnosis terms were used more frequently than their patient-friendly counterparts, typically in cases where the professional terms were more simple or common than the patient-friendly terms.

Factors influencing physician use of clinical electronic information technologies after adoption by their medical group practices.

BACKGROUND: A major factor limiting efficiency and quality gains from clinical information technologies is the lack of full use by the clinicians. PURPOSE: To identify the practice and physician characteristics that influence the use of e-scripts after adoption. METHODS: Data were obtained from 27 primary care medical group practices that had e-script technology for 2 years. Physician and practice characteristics were obtained from the clinics, and the proportion of each physician's prescriptions sent electronically was calculated from the prescription records. Practice culture data were obtained from a survey of the physicians in each practice. Data were analyzed using hierarchal regression. FINDINGS: Practice-level variables explain most of the variance in the use of e-scripts by physicians, although there are significant differences in use among specialties as well. General internists have slightly lower use rates and pediatricians have the highest rates. Larger practices and multispecialty practices have higher use rates, and five practice culture dimensions influence these rates; two have a negative influence and three (organizational trust, adaptive, and a business orientation) have a positive influence. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: While previous studies have identified physician characteristics and product deficiencies as factors limiting the use of electronic information technologies in medical practices, our data indicate that the influence of these factors may be highly dependent on the culture of the practice. Consequently, practice administrators can improve physician acceptance and use of these technologies by making sure that there is a culture/technology fit before deciding on a product.

Emergency department revisits for pediatric acute asthma exacerbations: association of factors identified in an emergency department asthma tracking system.

OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical variables associated with a greater likelihood of emergency department (ED) revisit for acute asthma within 7 days after an initial ED visit for acute asthma exacerbation. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of subjects from a prospectively enrolled cohort of children aged 0 to 18 years with physician-diagnosed asthma in the ED Allies Tracking System. Demographics and data on quality of life, health care utilization, environmental factors, chronic asthma severity, and ED management were collected. Emergency department revisits for acute asthma within 7 days of a prior visit resulting in discharge were compared with those without a revisit, using chi2 and t tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: Four thousand two hundred twenty-eight ED asthma visits were enrolled; 3276 visits resulted in discharge. Persistent asthma was identified in 66% of visits. Emergency department revisits within 7 days of a prior visit occurred following 133 (4.1%) visits. There were no significant differences in environmental factors or ED management between visits with and without an ED revisit. In univariate analysis factors associated with a greater revisit likelihood included age younger than 2 years, black race or Hispanic ethnicity, persistent asthma, public insurance, lower quality of life, and greater health care utilization in the prior 12 months. Variables independently significant (P < 0.05) in logistic regression were chronic asthma severity classified as persistent, age younger than 2 years, and lower asthma quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Although our design precludes drawing causal inference, our results suggest that children younger than 2 years or with persistent asthma or lower asthma quality-of-life scores are at greater risk for ED revisits after acute ED asthma care.

Ambulatory electronic medical records for large practices.

In summary, providers and vendors alike have made great strides in EMR adoption among physicians in large-scale ambulatory practices. However, there is still work to be done in the areas of physician use, adoption obstacles, workflow and physician satisfaction. As vendors continue to enhance EMR technology, advance workflow and solve challenges with integration and physician acceptance, adoption will grow and providers will be even closer to their specific efficiency, safety and effectiveness goals.