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Recent changes to billing policy have reduced documentation requirements for outpatient notes, providing an opportunity to rethink documentation workflows. While many providers use templates to write notes—whether to insert short phrases or draft entire notes—we know surprisingly little about how these templates are used in practice. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we observed the templates that primary providers and other members of the care team used to write the provider progress note for 2.5 million outpatient visits across 52 specialties at an academic health center between 2018 and 2020. Templates were used to document 89% of visits, with a median of 2 used per visit. Only 17% of the 100 230 unique templates were ever used by more than one person and most providers had their own full-note templates. These findings suggest template use is frequent but fragmented, complicating template revision and maintenance. Reframing template use as a form of computer programming suggests ways to maintain the benefits of personalization while leveraging standardization to reduce documentation burden.

Background MedicineInsight is a database containing de-identified electronic health records (EHRs) from over 700 Australian general practices. To support the trust placed in analyses of MedicineInsight data, additional evidence regarding the accuracy of the data is needed. Methods This study measures the validity of algorithms available in MedicineInsight that identify patients with depression, anxiety, asthma, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. Fifty practices met eligibility criteria regarding patient load and location, five were randomly selected and four agreed to participate. Within each practice, 250 patients aged ≥ 40 years were randomly selected. This age restriction increased the prevalence of the evaluated conditions, thereby optimising statistical power. Trained staff review the full EHR for these patients, including progress notes and correspondence, which are not available in MedicineInsight because they may contain identifiable information. Results With data collection almost complete, the target sample size will not be attainable. Power calculations indicate the current sample of 479 should provide adequate precision. For each condition of interest, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the algorithm is calculated. The full EHR review is the gold standard against which the algorithms are benchmarked. Conclusions The findings will indicate whether these algorithms demonstrate adequate accuracy to be used for research and decision-making. Key messages This additional understanding regarding the accuracy of MedicineInsight data will facilitate the interpretation of analyses of MedicineInsight data and guide improvements to the algorithms.

Purpose The development and implementation of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) for pharmacists to use for identification of and intervention on patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) are described. Summary A project team consisting of 3 informatics pharmacists and 2 infectious diseases (ID) pharmacists was formed to develop the CDSS. The primary CDSS component was a scoring system that generates a score in real time for a patient with a positive blood culture for S. aureus. In addition, 4 tools were configured in the CDSS to facilitate pharmacists’ workflow and documentation tasks: a patient list, a patient list report, a handoff note, and a standardized progress note. Pharmacists are required to evaluate the patient list at least once per shift to identify newly listed patients with a blood culture positive for S. aureus and provide recommendations if necessary. The CDSS was implemented over a period of 2.5 months, with a pharmacy informatics resident dedicating approximately 200 hours in total. An audit showed that the standardized progress note was completed for 100% of the patients, with a mean time to completion of 8.5 hours. Importantly, this initiative can be implemented in hospitals without specialty-trained ID pharmacists. This study provides a framework for future antimicrobial stewardship program initiatives to incorporate pharmacists into the process of providing real-time recommendations. Conclusion A pharmacist-driven patient scoring system was successfully used to improve adherence to quality performance measures for management of SAB. A pharmacist-driven CDSS can be utilized to assist in the management of SAB.

Background The transfer of information in a medical summary letter is a key aspect of the transition of adolescent patients with IBD from pediatric to adult care. The existing template from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) is nearly 20 years old, and the many intervening changes to the care of children with IBD necessitate a new template to reflect modern care. Aims We developed a standardized medical summary template based on the feedback of adult and pediatric IBD health care providers. Methods We purposively sampled gastroenterologists (GIs) or nurse practitioners (NPs) caring for patients with IBD in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto or Vancouver and invited them to take part in focus group discussions. Gastroenterologists caring for Results Content areas of importance (see Table) were: patient/disease characteristics, therapeutics history, clinical history and current status, noteworthy investigations, history of complications, family history, immunization history, and psychosocial history. In addition, the template addressed health system process factors (i.e., urgency of transfer, mode of delivery, confidentiality) to ensure a seamless transfer to adult care. Conclusions The standardized medical summary template should be used by pediatric providers to ensure that essential information is sent to the receiving adult provider. Funding Agencies Transition des patients avec Crohn et colite (TRACC) program

Background The outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) plan has frequently been omitted or incompletely communicated during transitions of care at our institution. Better communication of the OPAT plan at discharge has the potential to improve patient outcomes. Methods A standardized OPAT documentation tool (SmartForm) was developed in our electronic health record system for use by our inpatient Infectious Disease (ID) consult service. This intervention was part of an ongoing quality improvement project to improve communication of the OPAT plan at discharge. Outcomes were assessed prospectively during the post-intervention time period (11/18/2019 - 4/13/2020) and compared to the pre-intervention time period (10/14/2019 - 11/11/2019). Patients were included if discharged on IV antibiotics with follow up by a University of Utah Health ID provider. Patients discharged to long-term acute care facilities were excluded. Results Three hundred five patients were included: 231 in the post-intervention period and 74 in the pre-intervention period. Demographic characteristics were similar between time periods with the exception of older age (mean 60 vs 56 years), a greater percentage of patients receiving OPAT via an infusion center (19% vs 9%), and fewer patients receiving OPAT via home health (54% vs 64%) in the pre-intervention cohort. Documentation of an OPAT progress note occurred more frequently (94% vs 85%, p = 0.02) and patients were more likely to be enrolled in our OPAT program (77% vs 51%, p < 0.0001) after implementation of the OPAT SmartForm. Outpatient laboratory monitoring occurred with similar frequency during the pre- and post-intervention time periods (85% vs 82% of expected laboratory encounters completed, p = 0.31). Sixty-day unplanned hospital readmissions were reduced after implementation of the SmartForm (22% vs 35%, p = 0.02). Multivariable logistic regression identified Charlson comorbidity index (OR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02–1.18) and the pre-intervention time period (OR 1.78, 95% CI: 0.99–3.18) as variables independently associated with readmission. Conclusion Implementation of an OPAT SmartForm was associated with improved documentation of the OPAT plan, increased enrollment in the OPAT program, and reduction in hospital readmissions. Disclosures Russell J. Benefield, PharmD, Merck and Co (Grant/Research Support)Paratek Pharmaceuticals (Grant/Research Support)Rempex Pharmaceuticals (Grant/Research Support)

The increasing availability of electronic health records (EHRs) creates opportunities for automated extraction of information from clinical text. We hypothesized that natural language processing (NLP) could substantially reduce the burden of manual abstraction in studies examining outcomes, like cancer recurrence, that are documented in unstructured clinical text, such as progress notes, radiology reports, and pathology reports. We developed an NLP-based system using open-source software to process electronic clinical notes from 1995 to 2012 for women with early-stage incident breast cancers to identify whether and when recurrences were diagnosed. We developed and evaluated the system using clinical notes from 1,472 patients receiving EHR-documented care in an integrated health care system in the Pacific Northwest. A separate study provided the patient-level reference standard for recurrence status and date. The NLP-based system correctly identified 92% of recurrences and estimated diagnosis dates within 30 days for 88% of these. Specificity was 96%. The NLP-based system overlooked 5 of 65 recurrences, 4 because electronic documents were unavailable. The NLP-based system identified 5 other recurrences incorrectly classified as nonrecurrent in the reference standard. If used in similar cohorts, NLP could reduce by 90% the number of EHR charts abstracted to identify confirmed breast cancer recurrence cases at a rate comparable to traditional abstraction.

Background Patients discharged on intravenous antibiotics require regular monitoring by an infectious disease (ID) specialist or other provider familiar with outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT). However, the lab monitoring and outpatient follow-up plan outlined prior to discharge is not always realized. We are working to understand what steps the discharging hospital can take to improve the outpatient monitoring and follow-up for patients on OPAT, who are discharged to a wide variety of institutions. We studied whether documenting the OPAT plan in a standardized note led to increased inclusion of that plan in the discharge documentation and thus to improved lab monitoring and outpatient follow-up for our patients. Methods We compared the pre- and post-intervention frequency of seven key OPAT elements (antibiotic, duration, end date, indication, follow-up appointment, recommend labs, fax number for labs) in the discharge documentation. Pre-intervention, this information was documented by the inpatient ID service in the Problem List (overview) section of the electronic health record. Post-intervention, OPAT plans were documented within standardized OPAT Progress Notes. Efficiency and clinical outcomes were: proportion of OPAT treatment weeks with laboratory monitoring; number of weeks the outpatient ID team had to track down missing laboratory results; number of “No Show” ID clinic visits; number of OPAT-related telephone encounters. Results There were 73 patients in the pre- and 68 in the post-intervention cohort. Having a formal OPAT Progress Note was associated with a significant increase in the number of OPAT elements included in the discharge documentation (7 vs. 5, P = 0.002). In addition, the entire OPAT note was included in the discharge documentation more frequently in the post-intervention cohort (3/73 vs.. 14/68, P = 0.007). However, except for reduced telephone encounters related to OPAT (2 vs. 1 per patient, P = 0.0001), there were no significant improvements in post-discharge clinical or efficiency outcomes. Conclusion Creating an OPAT Progress Note improves the capture of OPAT elements into discharge documentation. Except for reducing telephone encounters, no other benefits occurred. Future interventions will focus on improving the other measured outcomes. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Background Documentation of antibiotic indication at the time of order entry is mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We evaluated the effect of this mandate on the accuracy of clinician documentation and pharmacy work flow in hospitalized children. Methods Documentation of indication at our institution was required beginning March 30, 2017. All patients ≤18 years old that received ≥1 dose of intravenous (IV) vancomycin (VAN) or IV/intramuscular ceftriaxone (CTX) during a 1 month preintervention period and three postintervention study periods (at 0, 3, and 6 months following implementation) were included. Patients were only included once per study period. Data included timing of antibiotic administration, indication for use, infection at body site requiring potential dose modification, dose modification, and agreement between order and progress note. Results Median age of patients was 4.2 years. Most common indications for VAN (total: 789) were sepsis syndrome (26%, N = 204), febrile neutropenia (12%, N = 95), and suspected catheter-related bloodstream infection (10%, N = 77) and for CTX (total: 1,071) were sepsis syndrome (12%, N = 127), perforated appendicitis (12%, N = 125), and urinary tract infection (10%, N = 107). Table: Changes in Workflow and Documentation Pre/Postintervention Baseline Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 CTX P N = 202 N = 173 N = 142 N = 142 Median time to administration (minutes) 70 53 47 60

Introduction: Hospitalized smokers benefit from smoking cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). However, inpatient providers who care for hospitalized patients carry out these preventive measures inconsistently. Methods: We designed a peer-led audit and feedback intervention to improve (a) the frequency of smoking cessation counseling and (b) the appropriateness of the prescribing of NRT by hospitalist practitioners in our hospital. Documentation of tobacco cessation counseling in progress notes and discharge summaries and the ordering and dosing of NRT were assessed for 30 hospitalists before and after an intervention. This intervention included specific feedback on their counseling and prescribing practices as well as education and was delivered as part of a one-on-one academic detailing session. Results: Five hundred and forty five and 1,119 patient-days were considered for this analysis in the pre- and postperiods, respectively. Documentation of tobacco dependence counseling in progress notes increased from 36% to 44% (p = .002) and from 7.5% to 46.8% in discharge summaries (p < .0001) following the intervention. The appropriateness of NRT dosing increased from 26% (before) to 64% (after) the intervention (p < .0001). Discussion: A peer-led audit and feedback intervention for hospitalists significantly increases the frequency of smoking cessation counseling and the adequacy of NRT prescribing for hospitalized smokers.

Objective: To evaluate the relative effectiveness of computer and manual reminder systems on the implementation of a clinical practice guideline. Design: Seventy-eight outpatients in a mental health clinic were randomly assigned within clinician to one of the two reminder systems. The computer system, called CaseWalker, reminded clinicians when guideline-recommended screening for mood disorder was due, ensured the fidelity of the diagnosis of major depressive disorder to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), and generated a progress note. The manual system was a checklist inserted in the paper medical record. Measures: Screening rates for mood disorder and the completeness of the documentation of which DSM-IV criteria were met by patients who were said to have major depressive disorder were compared. Results: The CaseWalker, compared with the paper checklist, resulted in a higher screening rate for mood disorder (86.5 vs. 61 percent, P = 0.008) and a higher rate of complete documentation of DSM-IV criteria (100 vs. 5.6 percent, P < 0.001). Conclusions: In an outpatient mental health clinic, computer reminders were shown to be superior to manual reminders in improving adherence to a clinical practice guideline for depression. n JAMIA. 2000;7:196-203.

The Comprehensive Periodic Assessment Form is a new format used to document a patient's rehabilitation progress. It is a nonnarrative, semi-graphical form in which is digested on one page many sheets of progress notes from a variety of disciplines. Mobility, ADL, mental, and medical status overtime can be ascertained at a glance. The form has special utility for the aged patient experiencing rehabilitation treatment.

Problem-oriented style progress notes were implemented in a skilled nursing facility where problem-oriented medical records were not in use. The problem-oriented note consists of subjective information, objective information, analysis or assessment of the problems, and plan for treatment, and is called a SOAP note. Six physical and occupational therapists used the method of note writing for an eight-week trial period. The author audited the records for errors in using the SOAP note throughout the experimental period. Therapists responded to a questionnaire following the study to assess their attitudes on using the SOAP note. Implementation of the problem-oriented progress note was satisfactory, with the exception of defining the problem list. The therapists reacted positively toward using the problem-oriented method of recording patient progress or status and recommended that its use be taught to physical and occupational therapy students.