Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania Health System researchers analyzed interventions that used both education and an electronic “dashboard” system integrated with patients’ EHRs to determine whether cardiac patients would benefit from acid suppression therapy, which reduces risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. The electronic system pulls information from patients’ EHRs to alert physicians when an individual would likely benefit from the therapy.
Researchers found that adding the dashboard technology to EHRs resulted in an 18 percent increase in necessary medication orders. Additionally, results showed education on acid suppression therapy did not present a noticeable effect on prescribing rates.
From September 2016 to January 2017, prior to implementing the EHR-linked dashboard, prescription rates for Penn Medicine Cardiac Intensive Care Unit patients needing acid suppression therapy were 73 percent. After the dashboard’s installation, prescription rates for CICU patients from January 2017 to September 2017 spiked to 86 percent.
“This study shows that education alone is typically not a sufficient method for changing the behavior of providers and care teams,” Penn Medicine CIO and lead study senior author Shivan Mehta, MD, said in a news release. “We demonstrated that although clinical leaders should collaborate to identify best practices, care redesign, technology and behavior change strategies are also needed.”
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