scholarly journals Health Reform in Minnesota: An Analysis of Complementary Initiatives Implementing Electronic Health Record Technology and Care Coordination

Author(s):  
Karen Soderberg ◽  
Sripriya Rajamani ◽  
Douglas Wholey ◽  
Martin LaVenture

Background: Minnesota enacted legislation in 2007 that requires all health care providers in the state to implement an interoperable electronic health record (EHR) system by 2015. 100% of hospitals and 98% of clinics had adopted EHR systems by end of 2015. Minnesota’s 2008 health reform included a health care home (HCH) program, Minnesota’s patient centered medical home. By end of 2014, 43% of HCH eligible clinics were certified with 335 certified HCHs and 430 eligible but not certified clinics.Objectives: To study the association between adoption and use of EHRs in primary care clinics and HCH certification, including use of clinical decision support tools, patient registries, electronic exchange of patient information, and availability of patient portals.Methods: Study utilized data from the 2015 Minnesota Health Information Technology Clinic Survey conducted annually by the Minnesota Department of Health. The response rate was 80% with 1,181 of 1,473 Minnesota clinics, including 662 HCH eligible primary care clinics. The comparative analysis focused on certified HCHs (311) and eligible but not certified clinics (351).Results: HCH clinics utilized the various tools of EHR technology at a higher rate than non-HCH clinics. This better utilization was noted across a range of functionalities: clinical decision support, patient disease registries, EHR to support quality improvement, electronic exchange of summary care records and availability of patient portals. HCH certification was significant for clinical decision support tools, registries and quality improvement.Conclusions: The rapid uptake in EHR technology, combined with health reform efforts focusing on accountability and care coordination, pose opportunities and challenges for providers. Opportunities are availability of tools that support decision making, quality improvement and reporting. Challenges remain for clinics to optimize health information exchange. The need to meet various care coordination requirements were likely drivers for better EHR utilization by HCH clinics. This research presents the synergy between complementary initiatives supporting EHR adoption and HCH certification.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S54-S54
Author(s):  
Vidya Atluri ◽  
Paula Marsland ◽  
Luke M Johnson ◽  
Rupali Jain ◽  
Paul Pottinger ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients labeled with penicillin allergies often receive alternative antibiotics, leading to increased cost, higher risk of adverse events, and decreased efficacy of procedural prophylaxis. However, most of those patients can tolerate a cephalosporin. University of Washington Medical Center – Montlake (UWMC-ML) Interventional Radiology (IR) frequently administer a pre-procedure prophylactic cephalosporin. We worked with the clinicians in IR to develop tools to allow them to better assess penicillin allergies, make the most appropriate antibiotic choice, and update the patient’s allergy documentation. Methods We identified all patients who underwent procedures in IR between 2017–2019. Chart review was done to determine the procedures performed, patient demographic information, allergies, allergy documentation, and prophylactic antibiotics received. In May 2020 we implemented new Clinical Decision Support tools, including an online assessment app (https://tinyurl.com/IRPCNAllAssess) and handouts to guide antibiotic decision making to clinicians in IR. Results From 2017 to 2019, 381 patients underwent 958 procedures in IR. Of those, 379 patients underwent 496 procedures for which the recommended first line choice for antibiotic prophylaxis is a cephalosporin. Of patients who received pre-procedure prophylactic antibiotics for those procedures, 15.9% [n=11] of patients with penicillin allergies received the first line antibiotic, compared to 89.9% [n=319] of patients without a reported penicillin allergy. Since implementation, the online app has been used to evaluate 9 patients, of whom 8 had penicillin allergies. All 8 patients safely received the first line antibiotic (3 were delabeled, 4 reported a history of mild reactions, and 1 reported a history of an immediate IgE mediated response to penicillin but safely received cefazolin). Conclusion IR evaluates hundreds of patients who may receive prophylactic antibiotics each year. By providing tools to assess penicillin allergies, we were able to improve both their prescribing and de-label patients which will provide a much broader impact on their care than on just their current procedure. Our free tool can be accessed at the website above, and we will demonstrate in person. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


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