Performance and Utilization of an Emergency Department Electronic Screening Tool for Pneumonia

Dean NC, Jones BE, Ferraro JP, et al. — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Appropriate treatment of pneumonia begins with accurate diagnosis. However, clinicians have difficulty integrating data for clinical decision making. Significant variability in pneumonia management exists in the emergency department (ED). Decision support might decrease variability and improve care, but physician utilization is historically low. An alerting tool is needed for physicians to utilize computer-based pneumonia decision support.

Computers and the Diagnosis of Pneumonia Comment on“Performance and Utilization of an Emergency Department Electronic Screening Tool for Pneumonia”

Gellad WF, Yealy D, Fine M. — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Pneumonia and influenza together ranked as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and led to over 1 million hospital admissions in 2009, with pneumonia accounting for the majority of the deaths. While most cases will resolve with treatment, patients admitted to the intensive care unit have mortality rates as high as 37%. Prior studies show that timely initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy is associated with decreased mortality. In addition to its clinical and public health importance, pneumonia is also one of several conditions targeted in “pay for performance” approaches, and hospitals' performance on certain measures of pneumonia quality is publicly reported. Thus, establishing an accurate and timely diagnosis of this illness is imperative.

JAMA Internal Medicine: Infectious Diseases Diagnostic Testing Topic Collection

Performance and Utilization of an Emergency Department Electronic Screening Tool for Pneumonia

Computers and the Diagnosis of Pneumonia Comment on“Performance and Utilization of an Emergency Department Electronic Screening Tool for Pneumonia”