A study, published in The American Journal of Managed Care, examined how EHR-embedded computer alerts impacted patient outcomes.
Researchers examined 26,242 inpatient patients at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from October 2013 to July 2016. Providers activated one or more of 18 frequently triggered alerts treating these patients.
Here's what you should know:
1. In 6 percent of visits, physicians followed all triggered alerts. In 94 percent of visits, physicians followed none of the alerts. Alerts would trigger if an ordered treatment contradicted a patient's health status.
2. Patients of physicians who didn't follow alerts saw their complication risk increase 29 percent.
3. Hospital readmissions within 30 days were 14 percent higher for this group as well.
4. Length of stay and cost also increased 6.2 percent and 7.3 percent, retrospectively, for the alert-less group as well.
Researchers concluded, "Sometimes the best care for certain patient conditions means doing less. We have seen that real-time aids for clinical decision-making can potentially help physicians reduce low-value care and improve patient outcomes while lowering costs."