Centering Digital Health Equity During Technology Innovation: Protocol for a Comprehensive Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Tools and Approaches.

BACKGROUND: In the rush to develop health technologies for the COVID-19 pandemic, the unintended consequence of digital health inequity or the inability of priority communities to access, use, and receive equal benefits from digital health technologies was not well examined. OBJECTIVE: This scoping review will examine tools and approaches that can be used during digital technology innovation to improve equitable inclusion of priority communities in the development of digital health technologies. The results from this study will provide actionable insights for professionals in health care, health informatics, digital health, and technology development to proactively center equity during innovation. METHODS: Based on the Arksey and O'Malley framework, this scoping review will consider priority communities' equitable involvement in digital technology innovation. Bibliographic databases in health, medicine, computing, and information sciences will be searched. Retrieved citations will be double screened against the inclusion and exclusion criteria using Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation). Data will be charted using a tailored extraction tool and mapped to a digital health innovation pathway defined by the Centre for eHealth Research roadmap for eHealth technologies. An accompanying narrative synthesis will describe the outcomes in relation to the review's objectives. RESULTS: This scoping review is currently in progress. The search of databases and other sources returned a total of 4868 records. After the initial screening of titles and abstracts, 426 studies are undergoing dual full-text review. We are aiming to complete the full-text review stage by May 30, 2024, data extraction in October 2024, and subsequent synthesis in December 2024. Funding was received on October 1, 2023, from the Centre for Health Equity Incubator Grant Scheme, University of Melbourne, Australia. CONCLUSIONS: This paper will identify and recommend a series of validated tools and approaches that can be used by health care stakeholders and IT developers to produce equitable digital health technology across the Centre for eHealth Research roadmap. Identified evidence gaps, possible implications, and further research will be discussed. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/53855.

Measuring Electronic Health Record Use in the Pediatric ICU Using Audit-Logs and Screen Recordings.

BACKGROUND: Time spent in the electronic health record (EHR) has been identified as an important unit of measure for health care provider clinical activity. The lack of validation of audit-log based inpatient EHR time may have resulted in underuse of this data in studies focusing on inpatient patient outcomes, provider efficiency, provider satisfaction, etc. This has also led to a dearth of clinically relevant EHR usage metrics consistent with inpatient provider clinical activity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to validate audit-log based EHR times using observed EHR-times extracted from screen recordings of EHR usage in the inpatient setting. METHODS: This study was conducted in a 36-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford between June 11 and July 14, 2020. Attending physicians, fellow physicians, hospitalists, and advanced practice providers with ≥0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) for the prior four consecutive weeks and at least one EHR session recording were included in the study. Citrix session recording player was used to retrospectively review EHR session recordings that were captured as the provider interacted with the EHR. RESULTS: EHR use patterns varied by provider type. Audit-log based total EHR time correlated strongly with both observed total EHR time (r = 0.98, p < 0.001) and observed active EHR time (r = 0.95, p < 0.001). Each minute of audit-log based total EHR time corresponded to 0.95 (0.87-1.02) minutes of observed total EHR time and 0.75 (0.67-0.83) minutes of observed active EHR time. Results were similar when stratified by provider role. CONCLUSION: Our study found inpatient audit-log based EHR time to correlate strongly with observed EHR time among pediatric critical care providers. These findings support the use of audit-log based EHR-time as a surrogate measure for inpatient provider EHR use, providing an opportunity for researchers and other stakeholders to leverage EHR audit-log data in measuring clinical activity and tracking outcomes of workflow improvement efforts longitudinally and across provider groups.

Improved Medical Student Engagement with EHR Documentation following the 2018 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Billing Changes.

BACKGROUND: Medical student note writing is an important part of the training process but has suffered in the electronic health record (EHR) era as a result of student notes being excluded from the billable encounter. The 2018 CMS billing changes allow for medical student notes to be used for billable services provided that physical presence requirements are met, and attending physicians satisfy performance requirements and verify documentation. This has the potential to improve medical student engagement and decrease physician documentation burden. METHODS: Our institution implemented medical student notes as part of the billable encounter in August 2018 with support of our compliance department. Note characteristics including number, type, length, and time in note were analyzed before and after implementation. Rotating medical students were surveyed regarding their experience following implementation. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the number of student-authored notes following implementation. Attending physicians' interactions with student notes greatly increased following the change (4% of student notes reviewed vs. 84% of student notes). Surveyed students reported that having their notes as part of the billable record made their notes more meaningful and enhanced their learning. The majority of surveyed students also agreed that they received more feedback following the change. CONCLUSION: Medical students are interested in writing notes for education and feedback. Inclusion of their notes as part of the billable record can facilitate their learning and increase their participation in the note writing process.

Pediatric Subspecialty Adoption of Telemedicine Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Early Descriptive Analysis.

Telemedicine has rapidly expanded in many aspects of pediatric care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about what factors may make pediatric subspeciality care more apt to long-term adoption of telemedicine. To better delineate the potential patient, provider, and subspecialty factors which may influence subspecialty adoption of telemedicine, we reviewed our institutional experience. The top 36 pediatric subspecialties at Stanford Children's Health were classified into high telemedicine adopters, low telemedicine adopters, and telemedicine reverters. Distance from the patient's home, primary language, insurance type, institutional factors such as wait times, and subspecialty-specific clinical differences correlated with differing patterns of telemedicine adoption. With greater awareness of these factors, institutions and providers can better guide patients in determining which care may be best suited for telemedicine and develop sustainable long-term telemedicine programming.

Use of fertility awareness-based methods of contraception: Evidence from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2013-2017.

OBJECTIVES: Fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) of contraception are rarely studied, although their use has increased in recent years. The objective of this study was to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, contraceptive histories, and prospective fertility intentions of FABM users. STUDY DESIGN: We used data from the 2013-17 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to examine FABM use among female contraceptive users aged 15 to 44 (N = 6195). We conducted logistic regression analyses to evaluate the demographic characteristics associated with FABM use and whether FABM users differed from users of other contraceptive methods in their contraceptive histories and fertility intentions. RESULTS: Among this sample of contracepting women, 176 respondents (or, 3.4%) were FABM users. FABM users significantly differed from users of other contraceptive methods in their relationship status, education, parity, health insurance status, and religious affiliation. Controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors, FABM users had lower odds of ever using the pill (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.67), higher odds of discontinuing the pill due to dissatisfaction (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 0.99, 2.84), and higher odds of expressing intentions to have (more) children (OR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.31, 5.53) compared to users of other contraceptive methods. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to address the healthcare and contraceptive needs of individuals should consider the demographic characteristics, contraceptive histories, and fertility intentions of FABM users. IMPLICATIONS: With growing rates of FABMs of contraception in the United States, better understanding FABM users is imperative for researchers and clinicians, alike. Advancing research on FABM use allows clinicians to better meet their patients' diverse health care and contraceptive needs.

Measuring success: perspectives from three optimization programs on assessing impact in the age of burnout.

Electronic health record (EHR) optimization has been identified as a best practice to reduce burnout and improve user satisfaction; however, measuring success can be challenging. The goal of this manuscript is to describe the limitations of measuring optimizations and opportunities to combine assessments for a more comprehensive evaluation of optimization outcomes. The authors review lessons from 3 U.S. healthcare institutions that presented their experiences and recommendations at the American Medical Informatics Association 2020 Clinical Informatics conference, describing uses and limitations of vendor time-based reports and surveys utilized in optimization programs. Compiling optimization outcomes supports a multi-faceted approach that can produce assessments even as time-based reports and technology change. The authors recommend that objective measures of optimization must be combined with provider and clinician-defined value to provide long term improvements in user satisfaction and reduce EHR-related burnout.

Deep interarytenoid notch in young children managed with systematic thickener wean and injection laryngoplasty.

OBJECTIVES: Deep interarytenoid notch (DIN) is a congenital variation of the larynx often associated with dysphagia and aspiration (DA) in young children. Feeding therapy with thickeners and surgical management with injection larygoplasty (IL) are used with various efficacies. Thickeners address the functional domain and IL addresses the anatomical domain of treatment. Our objective was to evaluate DIN patients managed with both interventions. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective pilot descriptive study of DIN patients with DA aged 1-3 years receiving thickeners and IL. Patients received a systematic weekly reduction of thickeners, referred to as the Thickener Weaning Protocol (TWP), based on clinical signs and symptoms of DA. The outcomes were assessed by the rate of thickener level reduction and DA-related sign/symptom frequency achieved at 6 months post-treatment. RESULTS: Thirteen patients with DIN associated DA were analyzed. The TWP was initiated within 2 months in 77% of patients, and within 4 months in 100% of patients. Thickener scores improved from an average of 5.76 (3/4 honey) to 2.15 (thin) (p = 0.001). DA-related signs/symptoms frequency improved from an average of 3.3 to 0.84 (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that treatment of DIN associated DA with a combination of thickeners and IL results in significant clinical improvements in young children.

Electronic health record (EHR) training program identifies a new tool to quantify the EHR time burden and improves providers' perceived control over their workload in the EHR.

OBJECTIVE: To understand if providers who had additional electronic health record (EHR) training improved their satisfaction, decreased personal EHR-use time, and decreased turnaround time on tasks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This pre-post study with no controls evaluated the impact of a supplemental EHR training program on a group of academic and community practice clinicians that previously had go-live group EHR training and 20 months experience using this EHR on self-reported data, calculated EHR time, and vendor-reported metrics. RESULTS: Providers self-reported significant improvements in their knowledge of efficiency tools in the EHR after training and doubled (significant) their preference list entries (mean pre = 38.1 [65.88], post = 63.5 [90.47], P < .01). Of the 7 EHR satisfaction variables, only 1 self-reported variable significantly improved after training: Control over my workload in the EHR (mean pre = 2.7 [0.96], post = 3.0 [1.04], P < .01). There was no significant decrease in their calculated EHR usage outside of clinic (mean pre = 0.39 [0.77] to post = 0.37 [0.48], P = .73). No significant difference was seen in turnaround time for patient calls (mean pre = 2.3 [2.06] days, post = 1.9 [1.76] days, P = .08) and results (mean before = 4.0 [2.79] days, after = 3.2 [2.33] days, P = .03). DISCUSSION: Multiple sources of data provide a holistic view of the provider experience in the EHR. This study suggests that individualized EHR training can improve the knowledge of EHR tools and satisfaction with their perceived control of EHR workload, however this did not translate into less Clinician Logged-In Outside Clinic (CLOC) time, a calculated metric, nor quicker turnaround on in box tasks. CLOC time emerged as a potential less-costly surrogate metric for provider satisfaction in EHR work than surveying clinicians. Further study is required to understand the cost-benefit of various interventions to decrease CLOC time. CONCLUSIONS: This supplemental EHR training session, 20 months post go-live, where most participants elected to receive 2 or fewer sessions did significantly improve provider satisfaction with perceived control over their workload in the EHR, but it was not effective in decreasing EHR-use time outside of clinic. CLOC time, a calculated metric, could be a practical trackable surrogate for provider satisfaction (inverse correlation) with after-hours time spent in the EHR. Further study into interventions that decrease CLOC time and improve turnaround time to respond to inbox tasks are suggested next steps.

"We have to be mythbusters": Clinician attitudes about the legitimacy of patient concerns and dissatisfaction with contraception.

Although women in the United States use birth control at high rates, they also discontinue it at high rates, often citing dissatisfaction and side effects. At the same time, research shows that clinicians often neglect to discuss or discursively downplay the importance of side effects in contraceptive counseling. Scholars have yet to consider how clinicians' beliefs about the legitimacy of patient concerns and dissatisfaction may undergird these patterns. This study uses in-depth interviews with reproductive healthcare providers (N = 24) to examine their attitudes about common complaints regarding hormonal birth control. I identify how their reliance on formal medical knowledge, including evidence-based models, can lead them to frame patients' experiences or concerns about side effects as "myths" or "misconceptions" to be corrected rather than legitimized. I also describe a pattern of providers portraying negative side effects as normal to contraception and therefore encouraging patients to "stick with" methods despite dissatisfaction. Finally, I explore how these themes manifest in racialized and classed discourses about patient populations. I discuss the potential cumulative impact of these attitudes - if providers do carry them into clinical practice, they can have the effect of minimizing patient concerns and dissatisfaction, while steering women towards more effective methods of contraception.

An Aerodigestive Approach to Laryngeal Clefts and Dysphagia Using Injection Laryngoplasty in Young Children.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Our objective is to summarize the presentation, diagnosis, and management of mild laryngeal clefts in children. We focus on deep interarytenoid notches (DIN), a subclassification of type 1 laryngeal clefts (LC1), and review the literature and our multidisciplinary experience utilizing injection laryngoplasty (IL). RECENT FINDINGS: DIN is a mild form of LC1 and is considered a normal anatomical variant. Recent cohort studies demonstrate IL to be a safe, low-risk, and efficacious treatment of LC1, but few studies focus on DIN. We present results from two aerodigestive clinic (ADC) pilot studies at our institution, in patients 1-3 years old, with DIN-related dysphagia and aspiration (DA). Feeding, respiratory-related symptom scores, and aspiration/penetration assessed on modified barium swallow (MBS) significantly improved following combined IL and feeding therapy using a thickener weaning protocol (TWP). Subgroup analysis reveals combined IL and TWP to be particularly effective in patients with severe baseline DA. Multidisciplinary aerodigestive evaluation and management with IL and feeding therapy focused on weaning levels of thickener is emerging as a novel and effective approach for treatment of DIN-related DA in young children. Further comparative, prospective trials investigating effects of IL and feeding therapy are required to validate results.

Improved Outcomes with an Outpatient Multidisciplinary Intensive Feeding Therapy Program Compared with Weekly Feeding Therapy to Reduce Enteral Tube Feeding Dependence in Medically Complex Young Children.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The prevalence of feeding disorders in medically complex children is estimated to be as high as 80%. Enteral tube nutrition (ETN) is commonly used for nutritional support in children with feeding disorders. Adverse consequences of ETN include medical complications, psychosocial problems, and higher healthcare costs. We used a retrospective cohort controlled study design to compare outcomes of our outpatient multidisciplinary intensive feeding therapy (IFT) program to our traditional therapy (TT) of single-discipline, once weekly feeding therapy to reduce ETN dependence in medically complex young children. RECENT FINDINGS: Children in the IFT cohort experienced a median reduction in ETN dependence of 49% (34.5-58.5%) compared with a median reduction of 0% (0-25%) for TT (p > 0.0001). Almost half of the IFT cohort no longer required ETN by the conclusion of the 5-week program. Medically complex young children (median age 26 months) successfully reduce or eliminate ETN in an outpatient multidisciplinary intensive feeding program.

Designing An Individualized EHR Learning Plan For Providers.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been quickly implemented for meaningful use incentives; however these implementations have been associated with provider dissatisfaction and burnout. There are no previously reported instances of a comprehensive EHR educational program designed to engage providers and assist in improving efficiency and understanding of the EHR. Utilizing adult learning theory as a framework, Stanford Children's Health designed a tailored provider efficiency program with various inputs from: (1) provider specific EHR data; (2) provider survey data; and (3) structured observation sessions. This case report outlines the design of this individualized training program including team structure, resource requirements, and early provider response. CITATION: Stevens LA, DiAngi YT, Schremp JD, Martorana MJ, Miller RE, Lee TC, Pageler NM. Designing An Individualized EHR Learning Plan. Appl Clin Inform 2017; 8:924-935 https://doi.org/10.4338/040054.

Environmental Contaminants and Reproductive Bodies: Provider Perspectives on Risk, Gender, and Responsibility.

Increasingly, leading health organizations recommend that women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy avoid certain toxic chemicals found in our products, homes, and communities in order to protect fetuses from developmental and future harm. In the contemporary United States, women's maternal bodies have been treated as sites of exceptional risk and individual responsibility. Many studies have examined this phenomenon through the lens of lifestyle behaviors like smoking, drinking, and exercise. However, we know little about how environmental hazards fit into the dominant framework of gendered, individual responsibility for risk regulation. I draw on in-depth interviews with 19 reproductive healthcare providers in the United States to explore how they think about their patients' exposure to environmental contaminants and sometimes subvert this gendered, individualized responsibility and adopt more collective frames for understanding risk.

Planning parenthood: Health care providers' perspectives on pregnancy intention, readiness, and family planning.

A major health care goal in the United States is increasing the proportion of pregnancies that are planned. While many studies examine family planning from the perspective of individual women or couples, few investigate the perceptions and practices of health care providers, who are gatekeepers to medicalized fertility control. In this paper, I draw on 24 in-depth interviews with providers to investigate how they interpret and enact the objective to "plan parenthood" and analyze their perspectives in the context of broader discourses about reproduction, family planning, and motherhood. Interviews reveal two central discourses: one defines pregnancy planning as an individual choice, that is as patients setting their own pregnancy intentions; the second incorporates normative expectations about what it means to be ready to have a baby that exclude poor, single, and young women. In the latter discourse, planning is a broader process of achieving middle-class life markers like a long-term relationship, a good job, and financial stability, before having children. Especially illuminating are cases where a patient's pregnancy intention and the normative expectations of "readiness" do not align. With these, I demonstrate that providers may prioritize normative notions of readiness over a patient's own intentions. I argue that these negotiations of intention and readiness reflect broader tensions in family planning and demonstrate that at times the seemingly neutral notion of "planned parenthood" can mask a source of stratification in reproductive health care.

Immunization registries in the EMR Era.

BACKGROUND: The CDC established a national objective to create population-based tracking of immunizations through regional and statewide registries nearly 2 decades ago, and these registries have increased coverage rates and reduced duplicate immunizations. With increased adoption of commercial electronic medical records (EMR), some institutions have used unidirectional links to send immunization data to designated registries. However, access to these registries within a vendor EMR has not been previously reported. PURPOSE: To develop a visually integrated interface between an EMR and a statewide immunization registry at a previously non-reporting hospital, and to assess subsequent changes in provider use and satisfaction. METHODS: A group of healthcare providers were surveyed before and after implementation of the new interface. The surveys addressed access of the California Immunization Registry (CAIR), and satisfaction with the availability of immunization information. Information Technology (IT) teams developed a "smart-link" within the electronic patient chart that provides a single-click interface for visual integration of data within the CAIR database. RESULTS: Use of the tool has increased in the months since its initiation, and over 20,000 new immunizations have been exported successfully to CAIR since the hospital began sharing data with the registry. Survey data suggest that providers find this tool improves workflow and overall satisfaction with availability of immunization data. (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Visual integration of external registries into a vendor EMR system is feasible and improves provider satisfaction and registry reporting.

Clinical report: a male with Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and autism.

A case of a 14-year-old boy with both fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome is described. This is the third reported case of a patient with fragile X syndrome plus Down syndrome and the first reported case in a male. Facial features are generally consistent with Down syndrome; however, a prominent forehead and jaw and maccroorchidism were consistent with fragile X syndrome. Joint laxity is also present, which is consistent with both disorders. Cognitive impairment is more significant than in his siblings with fragile X syndrome, and he meets criteria for autistic disorder. Ongoing behavioral dysregulation has been significant, leading to disruption of home and school environments despite many attempted psychopharmacologic and behavioral strategies and a supportive family. Identification and treatment of underlying medical problems (esophagitis) led to improvements in sleep and behavior. We emphasize discussion of challenges in his behavioral management and present a collaborative approach to behavioral management.