Monday, January 26, 2009

Improved Clinical Outcomes through Informatics


The current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine has some really interesting articles for those of you interested in health informatics. The main study is a multi-hospital study that evaluates the use of health IT resources and actual patient outcomes. Here's the bottom line: "Hospitals with automated notes and records, order entry, and clinical decision support had fewer complications, lower mortality rates, and lower costs."

David Bates, MD, MSc, also writes a nice editorial on the effects of health information technology on inpatient care.

Does your hospital use an electronic health record (EHR) system? HIT is expensive, but it's worth the investment when you see the type of impact it makes on patient care and clinical outcomes.

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