title: Effectiveness of automated notification and customer service call centers for timely and accurate reporting of critical values: a laboratory medicine best practices systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To conduct a systematic review of the evidence available in support of automated notification methods and call centers and to acknowledge other considerations in making evidence-based recommendations for best practices in improving the timeliness and accuracy of critical value reporting.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review followed the Laboratory Medicine Best Practices (LMBP) review methods (Christenson, et al. 2011). A broad literature search and call for unpublished submissions returned 196 bibliographic records which were screened for eligibility. 41 studies were retrieved. Of these, 4 contained credible evidence for the timeliness and accuracy of automatic notification systems and 5 provided credible evidence for call centers for communicating critical value information in in-patient care settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Studies reporting improvement from implementing automated notification findings report mean differences and were standardized using the standard difference in means (d=0.42; 95% CI=0.2-0.62) while studies reporting improvement from implementing call centers generally reported criterion referenced findings and were standardized using odds ratios (OR=22.1; 95% CI=17.1-28.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The evidence, although suggestive, is not sufficient to make an LMBP recommendation for or against using automated notification systems as a best practice to improve the timeliness of critical value reporting in an in-patient care setting. Call centers, however, are effective in improving the timeliness of critical value reporting in an in-patient care setting, and meet LMBP criteria to be recommended as an "evidence-based best practice."
authors: Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation, USA. liebowe@battelle.org
authors: Edward B
authors: EB
authors: Liebow
authors: James H
authors: JH
authors: Derzon
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Fontanesi
authors: Alessandra M
authors: AM
authors: Favoretto
authors: Rich Ann
authors: RA
authors: Baetz
authors: Colleen
authors: C
authors: Shaw
authors: Pamela
authors: P
authors: Thompson
authors: Diana
authors: D
authors: Mass
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Christenson
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Epner
authors: Susan R
authors: SR
authors: Snyder
mesh_terms: D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D016208:Databases, Factual; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States