Cardiovascular, surgery, and pneumonia patients at hospitals with a fully electronic health record (EHR) system experienced lower rates of in-hospital adverse events, according to a new study published in the Journal of Patient Safety.
A research team led by Dr. Mark L. Metersky, medical director at the UConn Health Center for Bronchiectasis Care in Farmington, Conn., conducted a retrospective analysis of patient discharges using data from the 2012 and 2013 Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System.
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The study sample included patients aged 18 years and older that were hospitalized for one of three conditions: acute cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, or conditions requiring surgery. The main outcome measures were in-hospital adverse events, including hospital-acquired infections, adverse drug events (based on selected medications), general events, and post-procedural events.
Among the 45,235 patients who were at risk for 347,281 adverse events in the study sample, the occurrence rate of adverse events was 2.3%, and 13% of patients were exposed to a fully electronic EHR. In multivariate modeling adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics, investigators discovered that patient exposure to a fully electronic EHR was associated with 17%-30% lower odds of any adverse event for cardiovascular, pneumonia, and surgery patients.
“Beyond the direct effects on safety, EHRs can also indirectly reduce overall adverse event rates by enabling quality improvement initiatives,” said Dr. Metersky and his coauthors.
Read the full study in the Journal of Patient Safety (2016 Feb 6. doi: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000257).
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