IT-CARES: an interactive tool for case-crossover analyses of electronic medical records for patient safety.

Detection of adverse events in routine care remains a challenge. Investigators developed an automated analytic tool to review administrative databases to identify postoperative bleeding following hip replacement and venous thromboembolic events. Rates of these two events identified by the tool were similar to expected rates based on prior studies. The authors conclude that their automated tool may be useful for detecting adverse events for future epidemiologic studies.