Research Matters

The impact of our research on healthcare policy and practice...

• Drs. McCoy, Singh, and Sittig cited in AHRQ report on health information technology and medication management.
  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report, "Enabling Medication Management Through Health Information Technology" found that use of health information technology to assist in the medication management process is well-studied, and while the evidence points to improved processes, further clinical and economic research is necessary. Ten papers by Center members Allison McCoy, Hardeep Singh, and Dean Sittig were cited in the report.
• Center members cited in Institute of Medicine Report on patient safety.
  The recently released Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on "Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care" found that the current market forces are not adequately addressing health IT associated safety risks. Specifically, the report recommends that the Secretary of HHS should develop an action and surveillance plan to minimize risk, including funding a new Health IT Safety Council to evaluate criteria for assessing and monitoring the safe use of health IT. In addition, it calls on the HHS Secretary to recommend that Congress establish an independent federal entity for investigating patient safety deaths, serious injuries, or potentially unsafe conditions associated with health IT. Similar recommendations have been previously suggested in articles written by Center members Dean Sittig and Hardeep Singh, whose recently proposed sociotechnical model was also adapted in the IOM report. A total of eight papers by Center members Dean Sittig, Hardeep Singh, and Eric Thomas were cited in this report.
• Study by Center Investigator Thomas and colleagues cited in position paper by Critical Care Society and in editorial in JAMA
  The Research Agenda in ICU Telemedicine
  JAMA Editorial
• Dr. Sittig cited in Institute of Medicine Report on clinical practice guidelines.
  Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust recommends eight standards to ensure the objective, transparent development of trustworthy guidelines. Several problems hinder providers' and others' ability to determine which among thousands of sometimes competing guidelines offer reliable clinical recommendations. IOM Report
• Research on resident supervision by Center members Drs. Singh and Thomas cited in new report by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
  Studies of closed malpractice claims have implicated lack of supervision, handover practices, and general communications issues as the major factors contributing to errors in teaching settings. Beyond establishing new limits on resident hours, the standards drafted by the task force emphasize the importance of faculty supervision and teaching, improvement of the patient handover process, and education of residents about how to manage alertness as part of their professional obligation. NEJM paper
• Drs. Sittig and Singh cited in testimony for DHHS Certification/Adoption Workgroup HIT Safety Hearing
  During the HIT Safety Hearing of the Department of Health and Human Services' EHR Certification/Adoption Workgroup, Drs. Gil Kuperman and Ted Shortliffe incorporated Drs. Sittig and Singh's JAMA paper on eight rights of EHR use into his testimony; and Dr. Sittig's other recent JAMA paper on safe EHR use was submitted to the Committee. HIT Safety Hearing Meeting Materials and Audio
• Dr. Sittig cited in the Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert (Issue 42, December 11, 2008)
  Safely implementing health information and converging technologies. This alert reports that, as health information technology (HIT) and converging technologies — the interrelationship between medical devices and HIT — are increasingly adopted by health care organizations, users must be mindful of the safety risks and preventable adverse events that these implementations can create or perpetuate.read more
• Drs. Singh, Thomas and colleagues cited in the recent Institute of Medicine Report, Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety (December 2008)
  This study evaluated 240 trainee-related malpractice cases from the Malpractice Insurers Medical Error Prevention Study (MIMEPS) in the areas of obstetrics, surgery, medications, and outpatient diagnosis. In addition to problems with handoff communication, causal characteristics for trainee errors included problems with teamwork, multiple levels of supervision, and diagnostic decision-making.read more