Electronic health records improve the quality of care in underserved populations: a literature review.

Organizations in underserved settings are implementing or upgrading electronic health records (EHRs) in hopes of improving quality and meeting Federal goals for meaningful use of EHRs. However, much of the research that has been conducted on health information technology does not study use in underserved settings, or does not include EHRs. We conducted a structured literature search of MEDLINE to find articles supporting the contention that EHRs improve quality in underserved settings. We found 17 articles published between 2003 and 2011. These articles were mostly in urban settings, and most study types were descriptive in nature. The articles provide evidence that EHRs can improve documentation, process measures, guideline-adherence, and (to a lesser extent) outcome measures. Providers and managers believed that EHRs would improve the quality and efficiency of care. The limited quantity and quality of evidence point to a need for ongoing research in this area.

Evaluating information prescriptions in two clinical environments.

OBJECTIVE: The research sought to evaluate whether providing personalized information services by libraries can improve satisfaction with information services for specific types of patients. METHODS: Adult breast cancer (BrCa) clinic patients and mothers of inpatient neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients were randomized to receive routine information services (control) or an IRx intervention. RESULTS: The BrCa trial randomized 211 patients and the NICU trial, 88 mothers. The BrCa trial showed no statistically significant differences in satisfaction ratings between the treatment and control groups. The IRx group in the NICU trial reported higher satisfaction than the control group regarding information received about diagnosis, treatments, respiratory tradeoffs, and medication tradeoffs. BrCa patients posed questions to librarians more frequently than did NICU mothers, and a higher percentage reported using the website. Questions asked of the librarians by BrCa patients were predominantly clinical and focused on the areas of treatment and side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Study results provide some evidence to support further efforts to both implement information prescription projects in selected settings and to conduct additional research on the costs and benefits of services.

Publications and presentations resulting from required research by students at Mayo Medical School, 1976-2003.

PURPOSE: To determine the research productivity related to required research experiences during medical school. METHOD: The authors studied the research productivity of the 998 graduates at Mayo Medical School who had participated in a required third-year medical school research experience (21, 18, or 17 weeks long) between 1976 and 2003. Outcomes were verified published research reports and abstracts, and presentations at scientific meetings. Research reports and abstracts related or unrelated to the required research were distinguished. RESULTS: Seventeen of the graduates were excluded when considering authorship of research reports (ambiguous data). Four hundred (41%) of the remaining 981 graduates published one or more research reports related to their required research experience, 176/998 (18%) published one or more abstracts related to their required research project, and 375/920 (41%) presented research findings at an extramural meeting at least once. Graduates who published a research report or abstract related to their required research or presented research at a scientific meeting published more research reports unrelated to their required research than did their peers who did not publish or present their required research (all P < .05). More graduates in the 21-week group were first authors (203/584; 35%) than were those in the 17/18-week group (60/336; 18%, P = .001), but other outcomes were similar for different durations (P > OR = .17). CONCLUSIONS: Required medical school research experiences facilitate tangible research products and may promote subsequent research productivity. Shorter experiences seem to yield outcomes similar to longer experiences.