Patrick E. Beeler

Sustained impact of electronic alerts on rate of prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism

Advanced electronic alerts (eAlerts) and computerised physician order entry (CPOE) increase adequate thromboprophylaxis orders among hospitalised medical patients. It remains unclear whether eAlerts maintain their efficacy over time, after withdrawal of continuing medical education (CME) on eAlerts and on thromboprophylaxis indications from the study staff. We analysed 5,317 hospital cases from the University Hospital Zurich during 2006-2009: 1,854 cases from a medical ward with eAlerts (interventiongroup) and 3,463 cases from a surgical ward without eAlerts (controlgroup). In the intervention group, an eAlert with hospital-specific venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention guidelines was issued in the electronic patient chart 6 hours after admission if no pharmacological or mechanical thromboprophylaxis had been ordered. Data were analysed for three phases: pre-implementation (phase 1), eAlert implementation with CME (phase 2), and post-implementation without CME (phase3). The rates of thromboprophylaxis in the intervention group were 43.4% in phase 1 and 66.7% in phase 2 (p<0.001), and increased further to 73.6% in phase3 (p=0.011). Early thromboprophylaxis orders within 12 hours after admission were more often placed in phase 2 and 3 as compared to phase 1 (67.1% vs. 52.1%, p<0.001). In the surgical control group, the thromboprophylaxis rates in the three phases were 88.6%, 90.7%, 90.6% (p=0.16). Advanced eAlerts may provide sustained efficacy over time, with stable rates of thromboprophylaxis orders among hospitalised medical patients.

Evaluation of medication-related clinical decision support alert overrides in the intensive care unit

Purpose: Medication‐related clinical decision support (CDS) has been identified as a method to improve patient outcomes but is historically frequently overridden and may be inappropriately so. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at a higher risk of harm from adverse drug events (ADEs) and these overrides may increase patient harm. The objective of this study is to determine appropriateness of overridden medication‐related CDS overrides in the ICU. Materials and methods: We evaluated overridden medication‐related alerts of four alert categories from January 2009 to December 2011. The primary outcome was the appropriateness of a random sample of overrides based on predetermined criteria. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of adverse drug events (ADEs) that resulted from the overridden alert. Results: A total of 47,449 overridden alerts were included for evaluation. The appropriateness rate for overridden alerts varied by alert category (allergy: 94%, drug‐drug interaction: 84%, geriatric: 57%, renal: 27%). A total of seven actual ADEs were identified in the random sample and where the medication(s) was administered (n = 366), with an increased risk of ADEs associated with inappropriately overridden alerts (p = 0.0078). Conclusions: The appropriateness of medication‐related clinical decision support overrides in the ICU varied substantially by the type of alert. Inappropriately overridden alerts were associated with an increased risk of ADEs compared to appropriately overridden alerts. HighlightsMedication‐related clinical decision support has been shown to improve patient safety, but is frequently overriddenThis study evaluated the appropriateness of overrides that exhibits an increased risk for adverse events.Alert categories evaluated were drug‐allergy, drug‐drug interaction, geriatric and renalOverall, weighted appropriateness of the evaluated overrides was 92.3%, with significant variance by alert type (p < 0.001)Inappropriately overridden alerts were associated with an increased risk of adverse drug events (p < 0.0078)

Automated identification of an aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease cohort

Background: Aspirin‐exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is characterized by 3 clinical features: asthma, nasal polyposis, and respiratory reactions to cyclooxygenase‐1 inhibitors (nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs). Electronic health records (EHRs) contain information on each feature of this triad. Objective: We sought to determine whether an informatics algorithm applied to the EHR could electronically identify patients with AERD. Methods: We developed an informatics algorithm to search the EHRs of patients aged 18 years and older from the Partners Healthcare system over a 10‐year period (2004‐2014). Charts with search terms for asthma, nasal polyps, and record of respiratory (cohort A) or unspecified (cohort B) reactions to nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs were identified as “possible AERD.” Two clinical experts reviewed all charts to confirm a diagnosis of “clinical AERD” and classify cases as “diagnosed AERD” or “undiagnosed AERD” on the basis of physician‐documented AERD‐specific terms in patient notes. Results: Our algorithm identified 731 “possible AERD” cases, of which 638 were not in our AERD patient registry. Chart review of cohorts A (n = 511) and B (n = 127) demonstrated a positive predictive value of 78.4% for “clinical AERD,” which rose to 88.7% when unspecified reactions were excluded. Of those with clinical AERD, 12.4% had no mention of AERD by any treating caregiver and were classified as “undiagnosed AERD.” “Undiagnosed AERD” cases were less likely than “diagnosed AERD” cases to have been seen by an allergist/immunologist (38.7% vs 93.2%; P < .0001). Conclusions: An informatics algorithm can successfully identify both known and previously undiagnosed cases of AERD with a high positive predictive value. Involvement of an allergist/immunologist significantly increases the likelihood of an AERD diagnosis.

Impact of Hyponatremia Correction on the Risk for 30-Day Readmission and Death in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

OBJECTIVE The study objective was to compare the 30-day readmission rate and mortality between patients with heart failure who have persistent hyponatremia during hospitalization and patients who have their admission hyponatremia corrected before discharge. METHODS This large retrospective cohort study included all adult patients admitted with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure to a tertiary-care hospital between July 2003 and October 2009. We compared the readmission rate and mortality 30 days after discharge between patients with persistent hyponatremia (ie, low sodium level at both admission and discharge) and patients with hyponatremia correction during hospitalization. RESULTS Among the 4295 eligible patients with hyponatremia at admission, 1799 (41.9%) did not have their sodium level corrected at discharge. Overall, 1269 patients (29.5%) had a 30-day unplanned readmission or died. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the absence of hyponatremia correction was associated with a 45% increase in the odds of having a 30-day unplanned readmission or death (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-1.67). Among patients with persistent hyponatremia, those with more severe hyponatremia at discharge (<130 mm/L) had a higher odds (odds ratio, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-2.14) of having a 30-day readmission or death than those with less severe hyponatremia at discharge (130-134 mm/L). CONCLUSIONS The absence of correction of hyponatremia over the course of hospitalization was frequent and independently associated with an increase of approximately 50% in the odds of having a 30-day unplanned readmission or death. This association appeared to be independent of heart failure severity.

Impact of electronic reminders on venous thromboprophylaxis after admissions and transfers

OBJECTIVE Clinical decision support has the potential to improve prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The purpose of this prospective study was to analyze the effect of electronic reminders on thromboprophylaxis rates in wards to which patients were admitted and transferred. The latter was of particular interest since patient handoffs are considered to be critical safety issues. METHODS The trial involved two study periods in the six departments of a university hospital, three of which were randomly assigned to the intervention group displaying reminders during the second period. At 6 h after admission or transfer, the algorithm checked for prophylaxis orders within 0-30 h of the patients arrival, increasing the specificity of the displayed reminders. RESULTS The significant impact of the reminders could be seen by prophylaxis orders placed 6-24 h after admission (increasing from 8.6% (223/2579) to 12% (307/2555); p<0.0001) and transfer (increasing from 2.4% (39/1616) to 3.7% (63/1682); p=0.034). In admission wards, the rate of thromboprophylaxis increased from 62.4% to 67.7% (p<0.0001), and in transfer wards it increased from 80.2% to 84.3% (p=0.0022). Overall, the rate of prophylaxis significantly increased in the intervention group from 69.2% to 74.3% (p<0.0001). No significant changes were observed in the control group. Postponing prophylaxis checks to 6 h after admissions and transfers reduced the number of reminders by 62% and thereby minimized the risk of alert fatigue. CONCLUSIONS The reminders improved awareness of VTE prevention in both admission and transfer wards. This approach may contribute to better quality of care and safer patient handoffs.

A cross-sectional observational study of high override rates of drug allergy alerts in inpatient and outpatient settings, and opportunities for improvement

Objectives To evaluate how often and why providers overrode drug allergy alerts in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Design A cross-sectional observational study of drug allergy alerts generated over a 3-year period between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011. Setting A 793-bed tertiary care teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and 36 primary care practices. Participants Drug allergy alerts were displayed for a total of 29 420 patients across both settings. Main outcome measures Proportion of drug allergy alerts displayed and overridden, proportion of appropriate overrides, proportion of overrides in each medication class, different reasons for overriding and types of reactions overridden. Results A total of 158 023 drug allergy alerts were displayed, 131 615 (83%) in the inpatient setting and 26 408 (17%) in the outpatient setting; 128 157 (81%) of which were overridden. A random sample of inpatient (n=200, 0.19%) and outpatient (n=50, 0.25%) alert overrides were screened for appropriateness, with >96% considered appropriate. Alerts for some drug classes, such as ‘non-antibiotic sulfonamides’, were overridden for >81% of prescriptions in both settings. The most common override reason was patient has taken previously without allergic reaction. In the inpatient setting alone, 70.9% of alerts that warned against the risk of anaphylaxis were overridden. Conclusions The information contained in patients’ drug allergy lists needs to be regularly updated. Most of the drug allergy alerts were overridden, with the majority of alert overrides in the subsample considered appropriate. Some of the rules for these alerts should be carefully reviewed and modified, or removed. Further research is needed to understand providers’ overriding of alerts that warned against the risk of ‘anaphylaxis’, which are more concerning with respect to patient safety.

Provider variation in responses to warnings: do the same providers run stop signs repeatedly?

OBJECTIVE Variation in the use of tests and treatments has been demonstrated to be substantial between providers and geographic regions. This study assessed variation between outpatient providers in overriding electronic prescribing warnings. METHODS Responses to warnings were prospectively logged. Random effects models were used to calculate provider-to-provider variation in the rates for the decisions to override warnings in 6 different clinical domains: medication allergies, drug-drug interactions, duplicate drugs, renal recommendations, age-based recommendations, and formulary substitutions. RESULTS A total of 157 482 responses were logged. Differences between 1717 providers accounted for 11% of the overall variability in override rates, so that while the average override rate was 45.2%, individual provider rates had a wide range with a 95% confidence interval (CI) (13.7%-76.7% ). The highest variations between providers were observed in the categories age-based (25.4% of total variability; average override rate 70.2% [95% CI, 29.1%-100% ]) and renal recommendations (24.2%; average 70% [95% CI, 29.5%-100% ]), and provider responses within these 2 categories were most often clinically inappropriate according to prior work. Among providers who received at least 10 age-based recommendations, 64 of 238 (27%) overrode ≥ 90% of the warnings and 13 of 238 (5%) overrode all of them. Of those who received at least 10 renal recommendations, 36 of 92 (39%) overrode ≥ 90% of the alerts and 9 of 92 (10%) overrode all of them. CONCLUSIONS The decision to override prescribing warnings shows variation between providers, and the magnitude of variation differs among the clinical domains of the warnings; more variation was observed in areas with more inappropriate overrides.

Earlier switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics owing to electronic reminders

UNLABELLED Paper-based interventions have been shown to stimulate switching from intravenous (i.v.) to oral (p.o.) antibiotic therapies. Shorter i.v. durations are associated with a lower risk of iatrogenic infections as well as reduced workload and costs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether automated electronic reminders are able to promote earlier switching. In this controlled before-and-after study, an algorithm identified patients who were eligible for i.v.-to-p.o. switch 60 h after starting i.v. antimicrobials. Reminders offering guidance on the re-assessment of initial i.v. therapy were displayed within the electronic health records in 12 units during the intervention period (year 2012). In contrast, no reminders were visible during the baseline period (2011) and in the control group (17 units). A total of 22863 i.v. antibiotic therapies were analysed; 6082 (26.6%) were switched to p.o. THERAPY In the intervention group, 757 courses of i.v. antibiotics were administered for a mean ± standard deviation duration of 5.4 ± 8.1 days before switching to p.o. antibiotics in the baseline period, and 794 courses for 4.5 ± 5.5 days in the intervention period (P = 0.004), corresponding to a 17.5% reduction of i.v. administration time. In contrast, in the control group the duration increased; 2240 i.v. antibiotics were administered for a mean duration of 4.0 ± 5.9 days in the baseline period, and 2291 for 4.3 ± 5.8 days in the intervention period (P = 0.03). Electronic reminders fostered earlier i.v.-to-p.o. switches, thereby reducing the duration of initial i.v. therapies by nearly a day.

Developing strategies for predicting hyperkalemia in potassium-increasing drug-drug interactions

Objective: To compare different strategies predicting hyperkalemia (serum potassium level ≥5.5 mEq/l) in hospitalized patients for whom medications triggering potassium-increasing drug-drug interactions (DDIs) were ordered. Materials and Methods: We investigated 5 strategies that combined prediction triggered at onset of DDI versus continuous monitoring and taking into account an increasing number of patient parameters. The considered patient parameters were identified using generalized additive models, and the thresholds of the prediction strategies were calculated by applying Youden’s J statistic to receiver operation characteristic curves. Half of the data served as the calibration set, half as the validation set. Results: We identified 132 incidences of hyperkalemia induced by 8413 potentially severe potassium-increasing DDIs among 76 467 patients. The positive predictive value (PPV) of those strategies predicting hyperkalemia at the onset of DDI ranged from 1.79% (undifferentiated anticipation of hyperkalemia due to the DDI) to 3.02% (additionally considering the baseline serum potassium) and 3.10% (including further patient parameters). Continuous monitoring significantly increased the PPV to 8.25% (considering the current serum potassium) and 9.34% (additional patient parameters). Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of the risk for hyperkalemia based on current potassium level shows a better predictive power than predictions triggered at the onset of DDI. This contrasts with efforts to improve DDI alerts by taking into account more patient parameters at the time of ordering.

30-day Potentially Avoidable Readmissions Due to Adverse Drug Events

OBJECTIVE To analyze the patterns of potentially avoidable readmissions due to adverse drug events (ADEs) to identify the most appropriate risk reduction interventions. METHODS In this observational study, we analyzed a random sample of 534 potentially avoidable 30-day readmissions from 10,275 consecutive discharges from the medical department of an academic hospital. Readmissions due to ADEs were reviewed to identify the causative drugs and the severity and interventions to prevent them. RESULTS Seventy cases (13.1%) of readmission were partially or predominantly due to ADEs, of which, 58 (82.9%) were serious ADEs. Overall, 65 (92.9%) of the ADEs have been confirmed to be preventable. Inappropriate prescribing was identified as the cause of ADE in 34 cases (48.6%) mainly involving diuretics, analgesics, or antithrombotics: misprescribing n = 19 (27.1%), underprescribing n = 8 (11.4%), and overprescribing n = 7 (10.0%). The remaining half of preventable ADEs (n = 36; 51.4%) were related to suboptimal patient monitoring/education, such as adherence issues (n = 6; 8.6%) or lack of monitoring (n = 31; 44.3%). In 64 cases (91.4%), the readmission could have been potentially prevented by better monitoring for drug efficacy/disease control, or for predictable side effect. Thirty-three (97.1%) of the 34 ADEs due to inappropriate prescribing could have also been prevented by better monitoring. CONCLUSIONS Adverse drug events accounted for approximately 13% of 30-day preventable readmissions. A half were due to prescription errors involving mainly diuretics, analgesics, or antithrombotics, and the other half were due to suboptimal patient monitoring/education, most frequently with antineoplastics. Both these avoidable causes may represent opportunities to reduce the total drug-related adverse events.