Unintended errors with EHR-based result management: a case series.
Test result management is an integral aspect of quality clinical care and a crucial part of the ambulatory medicine workflow. Correct and timely communication of results to a provider is the necessary first step in ambulatory result management and has been identified as a weakness in many paper-based systems. While electronic health records (EHRs) hold promise for improving the reliability of result management, the complexities involved make this a challenging task. Experience with test result management is reported, four new categories of result management errors identified are outlined, and solutions developed during a 2-year deployment of a commercial EHR are described. Recommendations for improving test result management with EHRs are then given.
Yackel
Thomas R
TR
Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA. yackelt@ohsu.edu
Embi
Peter J
PJ
D000555:Ambulatory Care Information Systems; D002984:Clinical Laboratory Information Systems; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011786:Quality Control; D013597:Systems Analysis; D014481:United States