Journal of Patient Safety published the study this month.
Here are six thoughts:
1. Researchers defined a “fully electronic” EHR system as including nursing assessments, digital physician notes, discharge summaries, provider orders and problem and medication lists.
2. Facilities equipped with a fully electronic EHR system were 17 percent to 30 percent less likely to experience an adverse patient safety event, compared to facilities without a fully electronic EHR system.
3. Of the 45,000 patients, the rate of harm was 2.3 percent and merely 13 percent of those patients received care in a fully electronic EHR environment.
4. Pneumonia patients receiving care in a fully electronic hospital were 25 percent less likely to experience any kind of general patient safety event; 35 percent less likely to encounter an adverse drug event; and 34 percent less likely to develop a hospital-acquired infection.
5. Cardiovascular surgery patients experienced a 31 percent reduction in the likelihood of post-procedural events and 21 percent less generalized events.
6. Patients hospitalized for other types of surgery in a facility with a fully electronic EHR system experienced a 36 percent decrease in hospital-acquired infections.
More articles on quality & infection control:
Kaiser Permanente study finds online tools spark patient engagement in preventative health: 5 notes
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