Search results for "United States of America"

Lack of interoperabilty and user errors are safety concerns associated with the use of electronic health records (EHRs). This case report provides two examples of problems with order cancellations in EHRs due to ineffective interfacing of systems that led to gaps in care. The authors recommend that hospitals test new information technologies to help identify weaknesses and make the ordering process safer.

The rate of mislabeled blood samples in hospital laboratories did not improve significantly between 2007 and 2015, despite widespread implementation of barcoding and other safety methods during that time period. An error associated with a mislabeled blood sample is discussed in a past WebM&M commentary.

Trigger tools facilitate identification of adverse events. In this retrospective medical record review study, investigators found that an automated trigger successfully identified delayed follow-up of laboratory thyroid testing among patients with hypothyroidism, with a positive predictive value of 60%. The authors suggest that this trigger approach could be used to detect and ameliorate follow-up delays in real time.

Inadequate test result management is known to contribute to missed and delayed diagnosis. This Veterans Affairs study found that 0.17% of radiologic studies were not evaluated by radiologists. The study team identified several technical and process problems that contributed to these unread studies. They were able to address the issues to ensure all studies were read.

Information provided at bedside rounds is critical for clinical decision-making in inpatient settings. This direct observation study found that laboratory data reported at rounds is prone to error, most often omissions. The authors suggest that inaccurately communicated laboratory data is a prevalent and underrecognized patient safety concern.

Errors related to the handling of surgical specimens can lead to serious patient harm in the form of delayed and missed diagnoses as well as repeat procedures. In this retrospective review, researchers looked at 648 reported adverse events and near misses involving surgical specimen management. They found that all steps of the specimen handling process are subject to error, but specimen labeling, collection, and transport represented the most frequently reported incidents. Additionally, 52 of the events led to the need for further treatment or to patient harm. The authors suggest that to enhance the safety of specimen handling, organizations should develop standard processes, provide training for staff, improve communication and handoffs, and consider the use of technological systems that might facilitate tracking of specimens.

Using a case study on missed and delayed follow-up of test results, this commentary explores challenges and opportunities that data from electronic health records present for patient safety research. Key barriers to utilizing electronic health record data to inform improvement work include restricted access to data, difficulty interpreting data, and workforce issues.

Mistakes in laboratory specimen labeling can contribute to diagnostic delay and error. This commentary describes an improvement initiative that enhanced teamwork between a pathology and surgical unit and applied Lean methodologies to redesign specimen labeling processes and reduce errors and inefficiencies over a 2-year period.

Gaps in follow-up of abnormal test results are known to contribute to delays in diagnosis in primary care, yet primary care practices still lack standard processes to detect and manage abnormal test results. In this study, investigators identified specific abnormal test results requiring follow-up and tested an escalating strategy of communicating with primary care physicians about test results. The study team first sent a secure email with test results to providers, and if the appropriate diagnostic follow-up action did not occur within one week, they made up to three attempts to reach providers by telephone. Email spurred about 11% of providers to act, and more than two-thirds of providers followed up after receiving telephone calls. For the handful of providers who did not act in response to the email or telephone calls, investigators contacted clinic directors. However, even with this patient-specific communication intervention, follow-up of abnormal test results remained incomplete. These results demonstrate that communicating abnormal results to primary care providers is not sufficient to achieve optimal follow-up. As recommended in the Improving Diagnosis report, team-based results management or technological approaches may be needed to assist primary care providers in tracking and following up on outpatient results to promote timely and accurate diagnosis.

Implementation of the electronic health record has led to providers engaging in workarounds to circumvent system limitations. This survey found that nearly half of providers at Veterans Affairs medical centers use workarounds when managing test results in the electronic health record. The authors suggest that results management should be improved in future electronic health records and work systems to enhance efficiency and care coordination.

Insufficient follow-up of test results is a known contributor to missed and delayed diagnosis. This observational study used a trigger tool to detect diagnostic delays related to chest imaging follow-up. Investigators used an automated algorithm to identify chest imaging cases that potentially had a follow-up delay. A clinician then reviewed the medical records for a random sample of cases identified by the trigger tool and a reference set of cases involving patients with abnormal test results but no delays. They found that the trigger tool had 99% sensitivity and 38% specificity in detecting delays in follow-up of abnormal chest imaging. The authors suggest that this trigger tool may help identify patients at risk for diagnostic delay following abnormal chest imaging. A WebM&M commentary discussed delayed follow-up of a diagnostic test.

Test result notification is a longstanding patient safety problem. This time series analysis examined changes in documented communication between the interpreting radiologist and the treating physician for abnormal test results following implementation of an electronic alert notification system. The system allows radiologists to send alerts within their workflow for synchronous communication via pager for critical results and asynchronous communication via email for abnormal but noncritical results with alerts persisting until acknowledged by treating physicians. The authors used an automated text searching algorithm to identify radiology reports with and without documented communication and employed manual record review and adjudication to detect abnormal findings. They found that the electronic alert system led to higher levels of documented communication for abnormal findings without increasing documented communication of normal reports, allaying concerns about alert fatigue. This work demonstrates how systems thinking about provider workflow can result in technology approaches to enhance safety.

Trigger tools are algorithms that prompt clinicians to investigate a potential adverse event. These tools are in routine practice for detection of adverse drug events and have been used to identify diagnostic delays. Investigators randomized physicians to either no intervention or to receive triggers related to cancer diagnosis; each trigger was an abnormal diagnostic test result for which follow-up testing is recommended. Delays in acting on abnormal test results are a known cause of adverse events. Sending reminders to physicians based on the trigger process led to higher rates of recommended diagnostic evaluation completion and a shorter time to completion for two of the three studied conditions. These promising results suggest that trigger tools could play a role in improving diagnosis across a range of conditions.

Despite the potential for electronic health record (EHR) systems to improve access to patient data, unintended consequences have emerged that can hinder information seeking. To highlight how EHRs can detract from patient–physician relationships, this commentary reveals insights from a physician who failed to notice a patient's respiratory failure and distress due to over-reliance on the EHR.

In this study, researchers designed an algorithm for flagging radiology reports that may contain gender or laterality errors. Implementation of this program led to rapid report correction, and the error rate by radiologists receiving this feedback decreased over time.

Reporting on weaknesses in laboratory testing methods, this news article discusses patients' experiences with testing errors to illustrate how such failures can contribute to patient harm—such as missed or delayed diagnosis—and raises concerns about insufficient transparency, investigations, and regulations around laboratory facilities with poor processes.

Delays in follow-up of abnormal test results are known to contribute to delayed and missed diagnosis. Investigators developed and validated an electronic trigger to identify potential delays in follow-up of abnormal chest computed tomography scans. This study found that more than half of the flagged cases had a true diagnostic delay. This work should lead to prospective evaluation of trigger approaches to enhance test result follow-up.

Reporting on a case involving an overlooked test result that contributed to the death of a patient in the military medical system, this newspaper article highlights how insufficient transparency can prevent patients and their families from learning about what happened during their care and hinder opportunities to recognize processes in need of improvement.

Failure to follow-up on test results in ambulatory practice is a common, serious safety concern. This study examined the use of a results manager tool by primary care physicians in Partners Healthcare in Boston. Although the vast majority of providers used the tool, many did not find that it was helpful for any specific purpose and only 64% were satisfied with the tool.

Reporting on the importance of a supportive workplace environment that engages employees in tasks to help ensure safety, this news article discusses root causes for low staff morale in the laboratory environment and suggests tactics to build healthy staff relationships.