Research in Progress: "Trials of Clinical Reminders Using the Electronic Medical Record"

All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results are embargoed until publication.

Abstract:

One of the important benefits of an electronic medical record is the potential to provide targeted decision support and reminders for care. In addition to improving care these reminders serve a secondary purpose of documenting care that is now required for public reporting or pay for performance programs. Thus, there is pressure to add an ever increasing number of reminders with unclear consequences. I will review past studies using computerised reminders and present several randomized trials conducted or planned at the Palo Alto VA and Stanford hospitals. The goals of these reminders include increasing life-prolonging heart failure medications and device use, reducing inappropriate cardiac imaging, and rapid treatment for sepsis. Clinical reminders can be considered quality improvement and I will discuss the potential for conducting methodologically rigorous randomized reminder trials that are not "research".