according to current guidelines, reported Courtney M. Brown, MD, and associates at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati.
The study protocol, undertaken at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s pediatric primary care center, consisted of ordering multivitamins with iron and follow-up lead testing, educating families about identifying and reducing sources of lead exposure, and referring to a specialty environmental health clinic when indicated. Quality improvement and a real-time decision support program called Epic SmartPhrase was used to increase provider adherence. Results from patients aged 9-27 months who were seen at the hospital from February 2016 to June 2018 were included, according to the researchers. Their findings were published in Pediatrics.
Over the study period, 634 elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) were recorded. Between February 2016 – when the protocol was distributed – and May 2017 – when Epic SmartPhrase was introduced – a mean of 5% of cases received protocol-based care. After introduction of Epic Smartphase, the rate of adherence to protocol increased to 90%, which was maintained for the rest of the study.
“A reliable system for responding to BLLs is critical for optimizing outcomes for individuals, as well as activating public health systems to reduce environmental lead sources. Using tools within the EHR, we increased provider adherence with published guidelines. Our Epic SmartPhrase could be easily reproduced by other practices using EHRs. Similar strategies could be applied for standardizing the response to other laboratory tests,” the investigators wrote. “This type of intervention could ensure that screenings of all kinds trigger meaningful interventions.”
The study was supported by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center through the All Children Thrive community health initiative; the study authors had no relevant financial disclosures.
SOURCE: Brown CM et al. Pediatrics. 2019 May 9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-3085.