Applied clinical informatics
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There is little data on the effect of the EHR on emergency department (ED) efficiency. ⋯ An ED-EHR was associated with a modest increase in time to see a medical provider but was not associated with a change in overall LOS. When controlling for factors including patient volume, acuity, and staffing, the EHR did not independently affect ED patient flow. The EHR may have a more profound impact on ED performance during periods of extremely high census.
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Effective communication is essential to safe and efficient patient care. Additionally, many health information technology (HIT) developments, innovations, and standards aim to implement processes to improve data quality and integrity of electronic health records (EHR) for the purpose of clinical information exchange and communication. ⋯ Electronic documentation tools that, in real time, capture information that is currently verbally communicated may increase the effectiveness of communication.