Search AMIA.org

Genetic studies require precise phenotype definitions, but electronic medical record (EMR) phenotype data are recorded inconsistently and in a variety of formats.

To present a system that uses knowledge stored in a medical ontology to automate the development of diagnostic decision support systems. To illustrate its function through an example focused on the development of a tool for diagnosing pneumonia.

Emergency department (ED) electronic tracking boards provide a snapshot view of patient status and a quick link to other clinical applications, such as a web-based image viewer client to view current and previous radiology images from the picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). We describe a case where an update to Microsoft Internet Explorer severed the link between the ED tracking board and web-based image viewer. The loss of this [...]

Computerized decision support systems (CDSS) are commonly deployed to support prescribing, although over-riding of alerts by prescribers remains a concern. We aimed to understand how general practitioners (GPs) interact with prescribing CDSS in order to inform deliberation on how better to support prescribing decisions in primary care.

Health information technology, especially electronic health records (EHRs), can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare providers. This study assessed the cost-savings of incorporating a list of preferred specialty care providers into the EHRs used by all primary care physicians (PCPs), accompanied by a comprehensive implementation plan.

Ethical concerns about randomly assigning patients to suboptimal or placebo arms and the paucity of willing participants for randomization into control and experimental groups have renewed focus on the use of historical controls in clinical trials. Although databases of historical controls have been advocated, no published reports have described the technical and informatics issues involved in their creation.

Early diagnosis of pneumonia and discrimination between this disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations in patients with COPD are crucial for optimal clinical management and treatment.

Clinically oriented interface terminologies support interactions between humans and computer programs that accept structured entry of healthcare information. This manuscript describes efforts over the past decade to introduce an interface terminology called CHISL (Categorical Health Information Structured Lexicon) into clinical practice as part of a computer-based documentation application at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Vanderbilt supports a spectrum of electronic documentation modalities, ranging from transcribed dictation, to a partial template of [...]

To determine factors that physicians find encouraging and discouraging about e-prescribing and to compare these factors based on physicians' adoption status, a cross-sectional study was conducted using an internet-based survey administered to a national convenience sample of primary care physicians. A scale was developed to measure factors related to the adoption of e-prescribing. Analysis procedures included exploratory factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and Tukey's post-hoc tests. 443 surveys were [...]