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Implementation of Computerized Physician Order Entry Is Associated With Increased Thrombolytic Administration for Emergency Department Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke.

 

Ballard DW, Kim AS, Huang J, Park DK, Kene MV, Chettipally UK, Iskin HR, Hsu J, Vinson DR, Mark DG, Reed ME; Clinical Research in Emergency Services and Treatment (CREST) Network.

 

Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Dec;66(6):601-10.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019606441500596X

 

Abstract

 

OBJECTIVES

Electronic health record systems with computerized physician order entry and condition-specific order sets are intended to standardize patient management and minimize errors of omission. However, the effect of these systems on disease-specific process measures and patient outcomes is not well established. We seek to evaluate the effect of computerized physician order entry electronic health record implementation on process measures and short-term health outcomes for patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke.

 

METHODS

We conducted a quasi-experimental cohort study of patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke with concurrent controls that took advantage of the staggered implementation of a comprehensive computerized physician order entry electronic health record across 16 medical centers within an integrated health care delivery system from 2007 to 2012. The study population included all patients admitted to the hospital from the emergency department (ED) for acute ischemic stroke, with an initial neuroimaging study within 2.5 hours of ED arrival. We evaluated the association between the availability of a computerized physician order entry electronic health record and the rates of ED intravenous tissue plasminogen activator administration, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and inhospital and 90-day mortality, using doubly robust estimation models to adjust for demographics, comorbidities, secular trends, and concurrent primary stroke center certification status at each center.

 

RESULTS

Of 10,081 eligible patients, 6,686 (66.3%) were treated in centers after the computerized physician order entryelectronic health record had been implemented. Computerized physician order entry was associated with significantly higher rates of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator administration (rate difference 3.4%; 95% confidence interval0.8% to 6.0%) but not with significant rate differences in pneumonia or mortality.

 

CONCLUSION

For patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke, computerized physician order entry use was associated with increased use of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator.

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