Mindy Oberg, DBA, MBA, MHA

We developed a push notification allowing for an electronic acknowledgment of critical lab results to providers in the intensive care unit. Although the acknowledgment rate was low, every electronic acknowledgment saved lab service technicians an average of 10 minutes compared to the existing workflow. As familiarity with the technology and workflow increases, this novel form of communication has the potential to have significant cost savings for lab services, in addition to efficiency gains… Show more

We developed a push notification allowing for an electronic acknowledgment of critical lab results to providers in the intensive care unit. Although the acknowledgment rate was low, every electronic acknowledgment saved lab service technicians an average of 10 minutes compared to the existing workflow. As familiarity with the technology and workflow increases, this novel form of communication has the potential to have significant cost savings for lab services, in addition to efficiency gains for lab, clinicians, and more timely care. The integration of health information technology and push notification of critical labs should be the focus of investigation for further future research. Show less

Given the complexities of communication within health systems, we investigated how the implementation of secure messaging in addition to traditional paging would impact hospital communication. This study was implemented at Grady Health System (GHS), a large safety net academic hospital system in metro Atlanta that includes inpatient and ambulatory settings. GHS uses Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR), and secure messaging was performed using Epic Haiku Platform. To assess states of… Show more

Given the complexities of communication within health systems, we investigated how the implementation of secure messaging in addition to traditional paging would impact hospital communication. This study was implemented at Grady Health System (GHS), a large safety net academic hospital system in metro Atlanta that includes inpatient and ambulatory settings. GHS uses Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR), and secure messaging was performed using Epic Haiku Platform. To assess states of communication, we implemented pre- and post-surveys. The secure messaging data tracked from 2018 to 2022 demonstrated a rise in usage from 9,378 chats per month when it went live in August 2018 to greater than 200,000 monthly messages during the pandemic when social distancing measures were enacted. Monthly usage peaked in March 2022 with 378,932 messages. Pre-and-post survey questions using a Likert scale (1–4) showed increased agreement in the ability to reach all team members through secure chat amongst healthcare workers. Within our unit staff, communication improved by being more rapid and reliable, as the Likert scale means increased from 2.18 pre-survey to 2.63 post survey. Pre-and-post survey analysis indicates improved satisfaction across GHS stakeholders with the implementation of secure chat in addition to the existing direct-paging system. Next steps could include exchanging digital media through secure messaging to facilitate faster diagnosis and treatment of certain medical conditions. Secure messaging integrated within the EHR (including mobile devices) enhances communication between healthcare team members in a HIPAA-compliant way reducing the number of pages and phone calls. Show less

This session was part of a professional development seminar at HIMSS 2023. As an expert, a panel and I discussed our experiences and expertise on effective communication skills to achieve maximum benefit and successful outcomes in today's remote work environment.

Adopting Health Information Exchanges (HIE) increased the exchange of clinical data relevant to patient care. This type of data exchange can reduce medical costs and increase efficiencies of care. However, most health care organizations and providers fail to reap the full intended benefits, as only 28% of health care organizations integrate external data into patients’ charts. Researchers, such as Hossein Ahmadi, Mark J. Dobrow, Nir Menachemi, and Farahnaz Sadoughi validate there is no shortage… Show more

Adopting Health Information Exchanges (HIE) increased the exchange of clinical data relevant to patient care. This type of data exchange can reduce medical costs and increase efficiencies of care. However, most health care organizations and providers fail to reap the full intended benefits, as only 28% of health care organizations integrate external data into patients’ charts. Researchers, such as Hossein Ahmadi, Mark J. Dobrow, Nir Menachemi, and Farahnaz Sadoughi validate there is no shortage of literature available related to the adoption of HIE technology. However, no previous studies address adoption attributes for reconciling and integrating data into patients’ charts to address this gap, so this study uses a case study of a safety net hospital, Grady Hospital. This study draws on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, developed by Tornatzky and Fleischer in 1990, to determine adoption-related factors. As a result, this study offers a process model with detailed opportunities to increase reconciliation and integration of external clinical data. The detailed account demonstrates how the TOE framework remains relevant and applicable in the adoption of reconciling and integrating external clinical data.
Keywords: Continuity of Care Document (CCD), External Clinical Data, Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health care Information Technology (HIT), Interoperability, Merit-Based Incentive Payments System (MIPS), Promoting Interoperability (PI), Receiving and Incorporating Clinical Data, Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) Framework Show less