Here are seven digital alerts and tools that hospitals and health systems have recently developed or integrated with their EHR systems.
1. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University engineers created a new tool that can identify disease co-morbidities by analyzing de-identified EHR data and medical diagnosis codes.
2. Boston Medical Center's EHR-based screening tool for patients' social determinants of health needs identified only a fraction of patients who were at risk of having their utilities shut off.
3. Atlanta-based Grady Health System researchers developed an EHR alert that provides clinicians with a recommendation to substitute IV dosages.
4. Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health launched an interactive tool within its EHR system that can automatically calculate a patient's risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
5. Worcester-based UMass Memorial Medical Center deployed a new function in its EHR system that allows clinicians to message medical questions to an infection control provider.
6. Sentara Norfolk (Va.) General Hospital, part of Sentara Healthcare, developed an automated program within its EHR to screen newborns for inherited diseases.
7. If patients are concerned they have symptoms of COVID-19, UChicago Medicine implemented a virtual screening questionnaire through its EHR. The screening categorizes patients into three categories, and from there, UChicago Medicine can determine which patients need to be tested.