title: Conducting research using the electronic health record across multi-hospital systems: semantic harmonization implications for administrators.
abstract: Administrators play a major role in choosing and managing the use of the electronic health record (EHR). The documentation policies and EHR changes enacted or approved by administrators affect the ability to use clinical data for research. This article illustrates the challenges that can be avoided through awareness of the consequences of customization, variations in documentation policies and quality, and user interface features. Solutions are posed that assist administrators in avoiding these challenges and promoting data harmonization for research and quality improvement.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Science in Aging, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. bowles@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bowles
authors.forename: Sheryl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Potashnik
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: Nai-Wei
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Maxim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Topaz
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Mary D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Naylor
mesh_terms: D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration*; D063025:Health Information Management / Q000379:methods*; D006740:Hospital Administrators; D006801:Humans; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States