Electronic interface for emergency department management of asthma: a randomized control trial of clinician performance.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated and dynamic electronic decision support system for management of acute asthma in the ED.


METHODS
A randomized trial was conducted comparing clinician performance using this electronic interface compared with paper documentation in a simulation scenario. The outcomes were documentation of asthma-related information and consultation times.


RESULTS
Use of this electronic interface was associated with significantly higher rates of documentation in 7 out of 10 variables, including provision of written short-term asthma management plans. After adjustment for participant seniority, there was no significant difference in consultation times.


CONCLUSIONS
In a simulation trial, use of this electronic interface was associated with improvements in clinical and discharge documentation. Further studies are required to test this prototype in clinical practice.
Emergency Department, St Thomas Hospital, London, UK.
Ben
B
Taylor
Michael
M
Dinh
Raymond
R
Kwok
David
D
Dinh
Matthew
M
Chu
Eric
E
Tang
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D004282:Documentation / Q000379:methods; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome