Harnessing the Electronic Health Record to Actively Support Providers with Guideline-Directed Telemetry Use.

BACKGROUND: Overuse of cardiac telemetry monitoring (telemetry) can lead to alarm fatigue, discomfort for patients, and unnecessary medical costs. Currently there are evidence-based recommendations describing appropriate telemetry use, but many providers are unaware of these guidelines. OBJECTIVES: At our multihospital health system, our goal was to support providers in ordering telemetry on acute care in accordance with evidence-based guidelines and discontinuing telemetry when it was no longer medically indicated. METHODS: We implemented a multipronged electronic health record (EHR) intervention at two academic medical centers, including: (1) an order set requiring providers to choose an indication for telemetry with a recommended duration based on American Heart Association guidelines; (2) an EHR-generated reminder page to the primary provider recommending telemetry discontinuation once the guideline-recommended duration for telemetry is exceeded; and (3) documentation of telemetry interpretation by telemetry technicians in the notes section of the EHR. To determine the impact of the intervention, we compared number of telemetry orders actively discontinued prior to discharge and telemetry duration 1 year pre- to 1 year post-intervention on acute care medicine services. We evaluated sustainability at years 2 and 3. RESULTS: Implementation of the EHR initiative resulted in a statistically significant increase in active discontinuation of telemetry orders prior to discharge: 15% (63.4-78.7%) at one site and 13% at the other (64.1-77.4%) with greater improvements on resident teams. Fewer acute care medicine telemetry orders were placed on medicine services across the system (1,503-1,305) despite an increase in admissions and the average duration of telemetry decreased at both sites (62 to 47 hours, p < 0.001 and 73 to 60, p < 0.001, respectively). Improvements were sustained 2 and 3 years after intervention. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that a low-cost, multipart, EHR-based intervention with active provider engagement and no additional education can decrease telemetry usage on acute care medicine services.

Responding to COVID-19: The UW Medicine Information Technology Services Experience.

BACKGROUND: UW Medicine was one of the first health systems to encounter and treat COVID-19 patients in the United States, starting in late February 2020. OBJECTIVE: Here we describe the rapid rollout of capabilities by UW Medicine Information Technology Services (ITS) to support our clinical response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide recommendations for health systems to urgently consider, as they plan their own response to this and potentially other future pandemics. METHODS: Our recommendations include establishing a hospital incident command structure that includes tight integration with IT, creating automated dashboards for incident command, optimizing emergency communication to staff and patients, and preparing human resources, security, other policies, and equipment to support the transition of all nonessential staff to telework.We describe how UW Medicine quickly expanded telemedicine capabilities to include most primary care providers and increasing numbers of specialty providers. We look at how we managed expedited change control processes to quickly update electronic health records (EHR) with new COVID-19 laboratory and clinical workflows. We also examine the integration of new technology such as tele-intensive care (ICU) equipment and improved integration with teleconferencing software into our EHR. To support the rapid preparation for COVID-19 at other health systems, we include samples of the UW Medicine's COVID-19 order set, COVID-19 documentation template, dashboard metric categories, and a list of the top 10 things your health care IT organization can do now to prepare. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 response requires new and expedited ways of approaching ITS support to clinical needs. UW Medicine ITS leadership hope that by quickly sharing our nimble response to clinical and operational requests, we can help other systems prepare to respond to this public health emergency.

Evaluation of Secure Messaging Applications for a Health Care System: A Case Study.

OBJECTIVE: The use of text messaging in clinical care has become ubiquitous. Due to security and privacy concerns, many hospital systems are evaluating secure text messaging applications. This paper highlights our evaluation process, and offers an overview of secure messaging functionalities, as well as a framework for how to evaluate such applications. METHODS: Application functionalities were gathered through literature review, Web sites, speaking with representatives, demonstrations, and use cases. Based on similar levels of functionalities, vendors were grouped into three tiers. Essential and secondary functionalities for our health system were defined to help narrow our vendor choices. RESULTS: We stratified 19 secure messaging vendors into three tiers: basic secure communication, secure communication within an existing clinical application, and dedicated communication and collaboration systems. Our essential requirements revolved around functionalities to enhance security and communication, while advanced functionalities were mostly considered secondary. We then narrowed our list of 19 vendors to four, then created clinical use cases to rank the final vendors. DISCUSSION: When evaluating a secure messaging application, numerous factors must be considered in parallel. These include: what clinical processes to improve, archiving text messages, mobile device management, bring your own device policy, and Wi-Fi architecture. CONCLUSION: Secure messaging applications provide a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant communication platform, and also include functionality to improve clinical collaboration and workflow. We hope that our evaluation framework can be used by other health systems to find a secure messaging application that meets their needs.

Optimizing vitamin D naming conventions in computerized order entry to support high-value care.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce wasteful ordering of rare 1,25-OH vitamin D lab tests through use of a noninterruptive decision support tool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a time series quality improvement study at 2 academic hospitals. The titles of vitamin D tests and the order in which they appeared in search results were changed to reflect the purpose and rarity of the tests. We used interruptive time series analyses to evaluate the changes we made. RESULTS: The estimated number of monthly tests ordered at the 2 hospitals increased, by 24.8 and 14.2, following the introduction of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) (both P < .001). When we changed the titles of the tests, the estimated number of monthly tests decreased at the 2 hospitals, by 22.1 and 11.3 (both P < .001). The search order did not affect test utilization. DISCUSSION: Changing catalog names in CPOE systems for infrequently used tests can reduce unintentional overuse. Users may prefer this to interruptive or restrictive interventions. CONCLUSION: CPOE vendors and users should refine interfaces by incorporating human factors engineering. Health care institutions should monitor test utilization for unintended changes after CPOE implementation.

Older adults and high-risk medication administration in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are susceptible to adverse effects from opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and benzodiazepines (BZDs). We investigated factors associated with the administration of elevated doses of these medications of interest to older adults (≥65 years old) in the emergency department (ED). PATIENTS AND METHODS: ED records were queried for the administration of medications of interest to older adults at two academic medical center EDs over a 6-month period. Frequency of recommended versus elevated ("High doses" were defined as doses that ranged between 1.5 and 3 times higher than the recommended starting doses; "very high doses" were defined as higher than high doses) starting doses of medications, as determined by geriatric pharmacy/medicine guidelines and expert consensus, was compared by age groups (65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, and ≥85 years), gender, and hospital. RESULTS: There were 17896 visits representing 11374 unique patients >65 years of age (55.3% men, 44.7% women). A total of 3394 doses of medications of interest including 1678 high doses and 684 very high doses were administered to 1364 different patients. Administration of elevated doses of medications was more common than that of recommended doses. Focusing on opioids and BZDs, the 65-69-year age group was much more likely to receive very high doses (1481 and 412 doses, respectively) than the ≥85-year age groups (relative risk [RR] 5.52, 95% CI 2.56-11.90), mainly reflecting elevated opioid dosing (RR 8.28, 95% CI 3.69-18.57). Men were more likely than women to receive very high doses (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.26-1.72), primarily due to BZDs (RR 2.12, 95% CI 2.07-2.16). CONCLUSION: Administration of elevated doses of opioids and BZDs in the older population occurs frequently in the ED, especially to the 65-69-year age group and men. Further attention to potentially unsafe dosing of high-risk medications to older adults in the ED is warranted.

The Effect of Computerized Physician Order Entry Template Modifications on the Administration of High-Risk Medications in Older Adults in the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are more susceptible to adverse events when administered certain medications at doses appropriate for younger adults. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of default geriatric dosing on computerized physician order entry (CPOE) templates on the subsequent administration of recommended starting doses of opioids, benzodiazepines (BZDs) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to older adults in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a before-after comparison of the frequency of the recommended starting doses of high-risk medications to adults aged 65 years and older. Computerized records were queried for the administration of the above medication classes in two academic EDs over two similar 4-month periods in 2015 and 2016. Between study periods, the doses of high-risk medications on ED CPOE templates were adjusted for older adults based on established pharmacy guidelines and expert consensus. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the rate of recommended dose administration of all medications of interest (27.3 vs. 32.5%, p < 0.001). Not surprisingly, the medications that were maximally impacted were also those most frequently prescribed, with a significant increase in the recommended dosing of opioids (29.0 vs. 35.2%, p < 0.001) accounting for the majority of the change. Although there were no differences in BZDs as a group, there were significant differences in selected BZDs such as midazolam and diazepam. Changes in the recommended dosing of NSAIDs could not be determined due to low numbers of administered doses in both phases of the study. CONCLUSION: Simple changes in the CPOE template resulted in increased administration of the recommended starting doses of high-risk medications to older adults in the ED.

Low-dose human chorionic gonadotropin maintains intratesticular testosterone in normal men with testosterone-induced gonadotropin suppression.

In previous studies of testicular biopsy tissue from healthy men, intratesticular testosterone (ITT) has been shown to be much higher than serum testosterone (T), suggesting that high ITT is needed relative to serum T for normal spermatogenesis in men. However, the quantitative relationship between ITT and spermatogenesis is not known. To begin to address this issue experimentally, we determined the dose-response relationship between human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and ITT to ascertain the minimum dose needed to maintain ITT in the normal range. Twenty-nine men with normal reproductive physiology were randomized to receive 200 mg T enanthate weekly in combination with either saline placebo or 125, 250, or 500 IU hCG every other day for 3 wk. ITT was assessed in testicular fluid obtained by percutaneous fine needle aspiration at baseline and at the end of treatment. Baseline serum T (14.1 nmol/liter) was 1.2% of ITT (1174 nmol/liter). LH and FSH were profoundly suppressed to 5% and 3% of baseline, respectively, and ITT was suppressed by 94% (1234 to 72 nmol/liter) in the T enanthate/placebo group. ITT increased linearly with increasing hCG dose (P < 0.001). Posttreatment ITT was 25% less than baseline in the 125 IU hCG group, 7% less than baseline in the 250 IU hCG group, and 26% greater than baseline in the 500 IU hCG group. These results demonstrate that relatively low dose hCG maintains ITT within the normal range in healthy men with gonadotropin suppression. Extensions of this study will allow determination of the ITT concentration threshold required to maintain spermatogenesis in man.

Exogenous testosterone or testosterone with finasteride increases bone mineral density in older men with low serum testosterone.

Older men, particularly those with low serum testosterone (T) levels, might benefit from T therapy to improve bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce fracture risk. Concerns exist, however, about the impact of T therapy on the prostate in older men. We hypothesized that the combination of T and finasteride (F), a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, might increase BMD in older men without adverse effects on the prostate. Seventy men aged 65 yr or older, with a serum T less than 12.1 nmol/liter on two occasions, were randomly assigned to receive one of three regimens for 36 months: T enanthate, 200 mg im every 2 wk with placebo pills daily (T-only); T enanthate, 200 mg every 2 wk with 5 mg F daily (T+F); or placebo injections and pills (placebo). Low BMD was not an inclusion criterion. We obtained serial measurements of BMD of the lumbar spine and hip by dual x-ray absorptiometry. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate size were measured at baseline and during treatment to assess the impact of therapy on the prostate. Fifty men completed the 36-month protocol. By an intent-to-treat analysis including all men for as long as they contributed data, T therapy for 36 months increased BMD in these men at the lumbar spine [10.2 +/- 1.4% (mean percentage increase from baseline +/- SEM; T-only) and 9.3 +/- 1.4% (T+F) vs. 1.3 +/- 1.4% for placebo (P < 0.001)] and in the hip [2.7 +/- 0.7% (T-only) and 2.2 +/- 0.7% (T+F) vs. -0.2 +/- 0.7% for placebo, (P < or = 0.02)]. Significant increases in BMD were seen also in the intertrochanteric and trochanteric regions of the hip. After 6 months of therapy, urinary deoxypyridinoline (a bone-resorption marker) decreased significantly compared with baseline in both the T-only and T+F groups (P < 0.001) but was not significantly reduced compared with the placebo group. Over 36 months, PSA increased significantly from baseline in the T-only group (P < 0.001). Prostate volume increased in all groups during the 36-month treatment period, but this increase was significantly less in the T+F group compared with both the T-only and placebo groups (P = 0.02). These results demonstrate that T therapy in older men with low serum T increases vertebral and hip BMD over 36 months, both when administered alone and when combined with F. This finding suggests that dihydrotestosterone is not essential for the beneficial effects of T on BMD in men. In addition, the concomitant administration of F with T appears to attenuate the impact of T therapy on prostate size and PSA and might reduce the chance of benign prostatic hypertrophy or other prostate-related complications in older men on T therapy. These findings have important implications for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in older men with low T levels.