hospitals
for the same tests is particularly problematic for physicians who work in multiple practices and hospitals .
“ We have to develop a simpler coding system that balances the clinician ’ s need to consistently order the right test with the laboratory ’ s need to show unique aspects of testing when necessary ,” added Sawchuk . “ There are pros and cons on each side , but ultimately we want to make it easy for clinicians to order and interpret the right test for the patient .”
Creating consistent codes , however , would require multiple changes by staff .
Staff would first need to have the time to learn code , and then additional time to implement it , stated Sawchuk . This would require additional personnel , which small settings , especially rural hospitals , are highly unlikely to have .
In a recent report , the CDC found that many of the EMR issues could be attributed to system design . Specifically , the lack of IT participation in design details prior to rollout .
“ End users are not yet sufficiently involved in the early stages of [ EHR ] design , including innovation in display design and workflow analysis , and
‘ As the percentage of providers using EHR systems has significantly increased over the last decade , there is concern that EHR systemrelated patient safety events may also be on the rise ’
that creates problems with their ability to effectively understand and use the information ,” Sawchuk said .
One example she noted tied display preference with a patient not being treated for a life-threatening disease .
Laboratory data is typically displayed in reverse chronological order , with the newest results on top . One EHR had the default setting as chronologic . A young woman ’ s abnormal pap smear results went undetected for four years due to a usability issue with her physician ’ s EHR system . Due to a default setting , the system presented the physician
10 September 2014