Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Jul 2015
Associations between healthcare quality and use of electronic health record functions in ambulatory care.
Contemporary electronic health records (EHRs) offer a wide variety of features, creating opportunities to influence healthcare quality in different ways. This study was designed to assess the relationship between physician use of individual EHR functions and healthcare quality. ⋯ In the early stages of the "meaningful use" program, use of specific EHR functions was associated with higher performance on healthcare process metrics.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · May 2015
Feasibility and utility of applications of the common data model to multiple, disparate observational health databases.
To evaluate the utility of applying the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) across multiple observational databases within an organization and to apply standardized analytics tools for conducting observational research. ⋯ Standardizing data structure (through a CDM), content (through a standard vocabulary with source code mappings), and analytics can enable an institution to apply a network-based approach to observational research across multiple, disparate observational health databases.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · May 2015
Using age, triage score, and disposition data from emergency department electronic records to improve Influenza-like illness surveillance.
Markers of illness severity are increasingly captured in emergency department (ED) electronic systems, but their value for surveillance is not known. We assessed the value of age, triage score, and disposition data from ED electronic records for predicting influenza-related hospitalizations. ⋯ Incorporation of age and severity measures available in ED records can improve ILI surveillance algorithms.
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Mobile health (mHealth) customers shopping for applications (apps) should be aware of app privacy practices so they can make informed decisions about purchase and use. We sought to assess the availability, scope, and transparency of mHealth app privacy policies on iOS and Android. Over 35,000 mHealth apps are available for iOS and Android. ⋯ Our findings show that currently mHealth developers often fail to provide app privacy policies. The privacy policies that are available do not make information privacy practices transparent to users, require college-level literacy, and are often not focused on the app itself. Further research is warranted to address why privacy policies are often absent, opaque, or irrelevant, and to find a remedy.
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J Am Med Inform Assoc · Apr 2015
Patient-centered care, collaboration, communication, and coordination: a report from AMIA's 2013 Policy Meeting.
In alignment with a major shift toward patient-centered care as the model for improving care in our health system, informatics is transforming patient-provider relationships and overall care delivery. AMIA's 2013 Health Policy Invitational was focused on examining existing challenges surrounding full engagement of the patient and crafting a research agenda and policy framework encouraging the use of informatics solutions to achieve this goal. ⋯ Recommendations include the need for consumer education regarding rights to data access, the need for consumers to access their health information in real time, and further research on effective methods to engage patients. This paper summarizes the meeting as well as the research agenda and policy recommendations prioritized among the invited experts and stakeholders.