Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context

Summary: Background: We hypothesised that the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) embedded perioperative clinical decision support (CDS) application, Anesthesia Testing Guidelines (ATG), would result in at least a 10% reduction of unnecessary perioperative testing in patients under...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stephen A. Esper, Jennifer Holder-Murray, Katie Meister, Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin, Alison K. Bauer, Jamie Artman, Michael Garver, Amy Lukanski, Brian Scott Zuckerbraun, Oscar Marroquin, Aman Mahajan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:EBioMedicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424005450
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846109762222030848
author Stephen A. Esper
Jennifer Holder-Murray
Katie Meister
Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin
Alison K. Bauer
Jamie Artman
Michael Garver
Amy Lukanski
Brian Scott Zuckerbraun
Oscar Marroquin
Aman Mahajan
author_facet Stephen A. Esper
Jennifer Holder-Murray
Katie Meister
Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin
Alison K. Bauer
Jamie Artman
Michael Garver
Amy Lukanski
Brian Scott Zuckerbraun
Oscar Marroquin
Aman Mahajan
author_sort Stephen A. Esper
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: We hypothesised that the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) embedded perioperative clinical decision support (CDS) application, Anesthesia Testing Guidelines (ATG), would result in at least a 10% reduction of unnecessary perioperative testing in patients undergoing elective surgeries. Methods: The development and implementation of ATG occurred in several phases: 1) team development, 2) development of an embedded EMR application, 3) creation of ATG training and education toolkit, and 4) implementation involving promoting ATG through training and education, addressing challenges, and monitoring compliance. The proportions of patients with any overutilisation across 19 perioperative tests were compared between the baseline cohort and the ATG implementation cohort. Findings: The overutilisation of perioperative tests was observed in 77.6% of the baseline cohort (n = 59,799) and 68.1% in the ATG cohort (n = 132,131), with a significant 12.2% reduction over two years of implementation (p < 0.0001). The two tests with the greatest amount of associated cost were reduced by 46% for chest X-rays and 39% for complete metabolic panels. The health system was able to reduce overall costs by 22% from baseline.Interrupted time series analysis estimated an immediate 7.5% decrease in monthly overutilisation when ATG initially launched, and it continued to decrease by 0.24% per month. Interpretation: Our findings suggest CDS ATG is a successful tactic to reduce unnecessary preoperative testing while maintaining quality of care and improving cost avoidance. This type of CDS implementation approach transforms organisational behaviour and medical practices to follow defined guidelines, thereby improving the value of care. Funding: CDS ATG was supported by UPMC Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and UPMC Department of Finance.
format Article
id doaj-art-0a4a233ba038456a8872f353a51246f5
institution Kabale University
issn 2352-3964
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series EBioMedicine
spelling doaj-art-0a4a233ba038456a8872f353a51246f52024-12-25T04:21:23ZengElsevierEBioMedicine2352-39642025-01-01111105509Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in contextStephen A. Esper0Jennifer Holder-Murray1Katie Meister2Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin3Alison K. Bauer4Jamie Artman5Michael Garver6Amy Lukanski7Brian Scott Zuckerbraun8Oscar Marroquin9Aman Mahajan10Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineHeart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Wolff Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Heart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC); Corresponding author. Department of Anesthesiology &amp; Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Enterprises, UPMC Perioperative and Surgical Services, Biomedical Informatics, and Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Swanson School of Engineering, Scaife Hall, A-1305, 3550 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.Summary: Background: We hypothesised that the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) embedded perioperative clinical decision support (CDS) application, Anesthesia Testing Guidelines (ATG), would result in at least a 10% reduction of unnecessary perioperative testing in patients undergoing elective surgeries. Methods: The development and implementation of ATG occurred in several phases: 1) team development, 2) development of an embedded EMR application, 3) creation of ATG training and education toolkit, and 4) implementation involving promoting ATG through training and education, addressing challenges, and monitoring compliance. The proportions of patients with any overutilisation across 19 perioperative tests were compared between the baseline cohort and the ATG implementation cohort. Findings: The overutilisation of perioperative tests was observed in 77.6% of the baseline cohort (n = 59,799) and 68.1% in the ATG cohort (n = 132,131), with a significant 12.2% reduction over two years of implementation (p < 0.0001). The two tests with the greatest amount of associated cost were reduced by 46% for chest X-rays and 39% for complete metabolic panels. The health system was able to reduce overall costs by 22% from baseline.Interrupted time series analysis estimated an immediate 7.5% decrease in monthly overutilisation when ATG initially launched, and it continued to decrease by 0.24% per month. Interpretation: Our findings suggest CDS ATG is a successful tactic to reduce unnecessary preoperative testing while maintaining quality of care and improving cost avoidance. This type of CDS implementation approach transforms organisational behaviour and medical practices to follow defined guidelines, thereby improving the value of care. Funding: CDS ATG was supported by UPMC Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and UPMC Department of Finance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424005450AnesthesiologyPreoperative testing guidelinesCost avoidanceSurgery
spellingShingle Stephen A. Esper
Jennifer Holder-Murray
Katie Meister
Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin
Alison K. Bauer
Jamie Artman
Michael Garver
Amy Lukanski
Brian Scott Zuckerbraun
Oscar Marroquin
Aman Mahajan
Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
EBioMedicine
Anesthesiology
Preoperative testing guidelines
Cost avoidance
Surgery
title Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
title_full Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
title_fullStr Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
title_short Reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive EMR based digital algorithmResearch in context
title_sort reducing unnecessary preoperative testing through a comprehensive emr based digital algorithmresearch in context
topic Anesthesiology
Preoperative testing guidelines
Cost avoidance
Surgery
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396424005450
work_keys_str_mv AT stephenaesper reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT jenniferholdermurray reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT katiemeister reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT hsinghuasylvialin reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT alisonkbauer reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT jamieartman reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT michaelgarver reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT amylukanski reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT brianscottzuckerbraun reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT oscarmarroquin reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext
AT amanmahajan reducingunnecessarypreoperativetestingthroughacomprehensiveemrbaseddigitalalgorithmresearchincontext