Prescription of amiodarone through a computerized template that includes both decision support and executive functions improves the monitoring for toxicities.
The antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone causes severe side effects that warrant active monitoring. In a given patient, monitoring for amiodarone toxicities involves checking past results of five laboratory/imaging tests and reordering four of these tests every 6 to 12 month, a process that is both complex and time-consuming. We hypothesized that a software tool that automated the retrieval and ordering of these tests in a context-sensitive manner would improve the completeness of surveillance for drug toxicities.
Stewart
Kendra
K
VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore MD, USA.
Loftus
Shawn
S
DeLisle
Sylvain
S
D000638:Amiodarone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004360:Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012984:Software; D014481:United States
D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000638:Amiodarone