Dl. Schriger et al., Implementation of clinical guidelines via a computer charting system: Effect on the care of febrile children less than three years of age, J AM MED IN, 7(2), 2000, pp. 186-195
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Library & Information Science","General & Internal Medicine
Journal title
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL INFORMATICS ASSOCIATION
Objective: The authors have shown that clinical guidelines embedded in an e
lectronic medical record improved the quality, while lowering the cost, of
care for health care workers who incurred occupational exposures to body fl
uid. They seek to determine whether this system has similar effects on the
emergency department care of young children with febrile illness.
Design: Off;on-off, interrupted time series with intent-to-treat analysis.
Setting: University hospital emergency department.
Subjects: 830 febrile children less than 3 years of age and the physicians
who treated them.
Interventions: Implementation of an electronic medical record that provides
real-time advice regarding the content of the history and physical examina
tion and recommendations regarding laboratory testing, treatment, diagnosis
, and disposition.
Measurements: Documentation of essential items in the medical record and af
ter-care instructions; compliance with guidelines regarding testing, treatm
ent, and diagnosis; charges.
Results: The computer was used in 64 percent of eligible cases. Mean percen
tage documentation of 21 essential history and physical examination items i
ncreased from 80 percent during the baseline period to 92 percent in the in
tervention phase (13 percent increase; 95 percent CI, 10-15 percent). Mean
percentage documentation of ten items in the after-care instructions increa
sed from 48 percent at baseline to 81 percent during the intervention phase
(33 percent increase; 95 percent confidence interval, 28-38 percent). All
documentation decreased to baseline when the computer system was removed. T
here were no demonstrable improvements in appropriateness of care, nor was
there evidence that appropriateness worsened. Mean charges were not changed
by the intervention.
Conclusion: The intervention markedly improved documentation, had little ef
fect on the appropriateness of the process of care, and had no effect on ch
arges. Results for the febrile child module differ from those for the modul
e for occupational blood and body fluid exposure (a more focused and straig
htforward medical condition), underscoring the need for implementation meth
ods to be tailored to specific clinical complaints.