Reminders and Hard Stops -One Way to Improve Care Using an Electronic Medical Record

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A recent study (MA Konerman et al. Hepatology 2017; 66: 1805-13) provides a tangible example of how an electronic medical record (EMR) could be helpful in improving care.

Implementation of EMRs has been a source of consternation for many physicians.  Some of the concerns include spending inordinate amounts of time completing documentation and how they can make the patient encounter less personal.

Nevertheless, with a good EMR, there is the potential for better care.  One way to implement a specific improvement is to place a “hard stop” or a reminder.  A hard stop can prevent completing documentation until an issue is addressed.  A reminder can pop up for appropriate patients to query whether a specific problem is being addressed.  In theory, both could be helpful; though, too many reminders can trigger alarm fatigue and too many hard stops can be quite annoying and further slow delivery of patient care.

In the above-mentioned study, the authors placed a reminder (“best practice advisory”) that encouraged screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) among patients born between 1945-65 who lacked a prior HCV diagnosis and lacked prior testing.  This resulted in an increase in HCV screening in a primary care setting from 7.6% to 72% (one year after implementing).  Of the 53 newly diagnosed patients, all were referred for specialty care.  11 had advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.

My take: Using EMR tools, specific screening goals can be achieved.  Before placing hard stops and/or reminders, we need to make sure that these goals are carefully selected to generate a net benefit.

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