EHRs

As hospitals and health systems across the U.S. grapple with workflow adjustments and patient surges in response to COVID-19, their EHRs have taken on a key role in helping manage care.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is postponing its $16 billion Cerner EHR implementation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Politico's April 6 Morning eHealth newsletter.

The lack of interoperability among EHRs can be potentially deadly for some senior patients with comorbidities during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent op-ed published in MIT Management.

In the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., New York City-based Northwell Health has built various tools into its EHR to manage the surge of patients flooding its 23 affiliated hospitals. 

Stanford (Calif.) Health clinicians are testing a machine-learning algorithm developed by Epic that may be able to identify whether a COVID-19 patient will need intensive care before their condition deteriorates, according to an April 1 Stat report.

The Department of Defense is pressing pause on the next wave of its Cerner EHR rollout due to concerns stemming from COVID-19, according to a March 31 FCW report. 

The ONC has tracked more than 500 interoperability projects related to COVID-19 across the U.S. as part of the Interoperability Proving Ground open platform, and more than 30 are related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospitals and health systems across the U.S. have developed EHR features in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, from streamlining screenings to facilitating quicker communication between specialists.

Athenahealth created two digital dashboards to help track COVID-19 data including clinician-ordered lab tests and high-risk patients.

Epic and health IT innovation nonprofit OCHIN developed a mobile app for the Washington State Health Care Authority that allows providers, volunteers and patients to self-perform COVID-19 screenings and check in to local emergency care sites.