Automated critical test result notification system: architecture, design, and assessment of provider satisfaction. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2014 Nov;203(5):W491-6
Date
10/24/2014Pubmed ID
25341163Pubmed Central ID
PMC4426875DOI
10.2214/AJR.14.13063Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84924930354 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 50 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Communicating critical results of diagnostic imaging procedures is a national patient safety goal. The purposes of this study were to describe the system architecture and design of Alert Notification of Critical Results (ANCR), an automated system designed to facilitate communication of critical imaging results between care providers; to report providers' satisfaction with ANCR; and to compare radiologists' and ordering providers' attitudes toward ANCR.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design decisions made for each step in the alert communication process, which includes user authentication, alert creation, alert communication, alert acknowledgment and management, alert reminder and escalation, and alert documentation, are described. To assess attitudes toward ANCR, internally developed and validated surveys were administered to all radiologists (n = 320) and ordering providers (n = 4323) who sent or received alerts 3 years after ANCR implementation.
RESULTS: The survey response rates were 50.4% for radiologists and 36.1% for ordering providers. Ordering providers were generally dissatisfied with the training received for use of ANCR and with access to technical support. Radiologists were more satisfied with documenting critical result communication (61.1% vs 43.2%; p = 0.0001) and tracking critical results (51.6% vs 35.1%; p = 0.0003) than were ordering providers. Both groups agreed use of ANCR reduces medical errors and improves the quality of patient care.
CONCLUSION: Use of ANCR enables automated communication of critical test results. The survey results confirm overall provider satisfaction with ANCR but highlight the need for improved training strategies for large numbers of geographically dispersed ordering providers. Future enhancements beyond acknowledging receipt of critical results are needed to help ensure timely and appropriate follow-up of critical results to improve quality and patient safety.
Author List
Lacson R, O'Connor SD, Andriole KP, Prevedello LM, Khorasani RMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Attitude of Health PersonnelConsumer Behavior
Databases, Factual
Decision Support Systems, Clinical
Diagnostic Imaging
Electronic Health Records
Hospital Communication Systems
Radiology Information Systems
Reminder Systems
Risk Management
Software
Software Design
Software Validation
United States
Utilization Review
