Rules-Based Electronic Triggers Effectively ID Missed Opportunities in Diagnosis
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2024 -- Rules-based electronic triggers (e-triggers) are useful for post hoc detection of missed opportunities in diagnosis (MODs) in emergency department visits, according to a study published online Dec. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Viralkumar Vaghani, M.B.B.S., from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues assessed the performance of a portfolio of e-triggers for identifying MODs in emergency departments. The analysis included treat-and-release emergency department visits at 1,321 Veterans Affairs health care sites.
The researchers found that 203 trigger-positive records were identified for high-risk stroke, 1,981 for symptom-disease dyads, 170 for high-risk abdominal pain, 116,785 for unexpected emergency department return, 14,879 for unexpected hospital return, and 2,090 for abnormal test results not followed up. From 625 randomly selected patient records, 47 MODs (positive predictive values [PPV], 47.0 percent) were identified for stroke, 31 MODs (PPV, 25.8 percent) for abdominal pain, 11 MODs (PPV, 11.0 percent) for emergency department returns, 23 MODs (PPV, 23.0 percent) for hospital returns, 18 MODs (PPV, 18.0 percent) for symptom-disease dyads, and 55 MODs (PPV, 52.4 percent) for test results. The most common diagnostic process breakdown involved the patient-clinician encounter for 108 of 130 MODs (excluding MODs related to the test result e-trigger). For 20 of 185 total MODs, patients experienced severe harm (10.8 percent), and 54 patients experienced moderate harm (29.2 percent).
"Interventions to target emergency department work system factors are urgently needed to support patient-clinician encounters and minimize harm from diagnostic errors," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to the health information technology industry.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted December 2024
Read this next
Swept-Source Anterior Segment OCT Can Help Distinguish Early Childhood Glaucoma
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- The noninvasive swept-source anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (SS-ASOCT) can diagnose early-onset childhood glaucoma, according to a study...
Semaglutide Plus Intensive Behavioral Therapy Most Beneficial for Weight Loss
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- Weight loss treatment combining personalized semaglutide with intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) yields weight loss similar to that reported in...
Higher Social Media Use Tied to Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in Youth
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- Higher social media use is associated with greater subsequent depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, according to a study published online May 21...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.