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Medication information is one of the most important types of clinical data in electronic medical records. It is critical for healthcare safety and quality, as well as for clinical research that uses electronic medical record data. However, medication data are often recorded in clinical notes as free-text. As such, they are not accessible to other computerized applications that rely on coded data. We describe a new natural language processing system [...]

Statistics is an essential aspect of biomedical informatics. To examine the use of statistics in informatics research, a literature review of recent articles in two high-impact factor biomedical informatics journals, the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) and the International Journal of Medical Informatics was conducted. The use of statistical methods in each paper was examined. Articles of original investigations from 2000 to 2007 were reviewed. For each journal [...]

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) has been shown to improve patient safety by reducing medication errors and subsequent adverse drug events (ADEs). Studies demonstrating these benefits have been conducted primarily in the inpatient setting, with fewer in the ambulatory setting. The objective was to evaluate the effect of a basic, ambulatory CPOE system on medication errors and associated ADEs.

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 [...]

In today's environment, providers are extremely time-constrained. Assembling relevant contextual data to make decisions on laboratory results can take a significant amount of time from the day. The Regenstrief Institute has created a system which leverages data within Indiana Health Information Exchange's (IHIE's) repository, the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), to provide well-organized and contextual information on returning laboratory results to outpatient providers. The system described here uses data [...]

Electronic medical records (EMRs) facilitate abnormal test result communication through "alert" notifications. The aim was to evaluate how primary care providers (PCPs) manage alerts related to critical diagnostic test results on their EMR screens, and compare alert-management strategies of providers with high versus low rates of timely follow-up of results.

Although electronic notes have advantages compared to handwritten notes, they take longer to write and promote information redundancy in electronic health records (EHRs). We sought to quantify redundancy in clinical documentation by studying collections of physician notes in an EHR.

There is wide variability in the use and adoption of recommendations generated by computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) despite the benefits they may bring to clinical practice. We conducted a systematic review to explore the barriers to, and facilitators of, CDSS uptake by physicians to guide prescribing decisions. We identified 58 studies by searching electronic databases (1990-2007). Factors impacting on CDSS use included: the availability of hardware, technical support [...]

In 2007, the Department of Health and Human Services commissioned the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) Trial Implementations project to demonstrate the secure exchange of data among health information exchange organizations around the country. The project's Core Services Content Work Group (CSCWG) developed the content specifications for the project. The CSCWG developed content specifications for a summary patient record and for eight use cases that were implemented in demonstration events [...]

BACKGROUND: Implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) can fail or meet high levels of user resistance for a variety of reasons, including lack of attention to users' needs and the significant workflow changes induced and required by CPOE. End-user satisfaction is a critical factor in IT implementation. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to identify criteria to select a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure end-user satisfaction with [...]