Real World Evidence to an eHealth tool: The 2017 top ten papers from Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics

We report the top ten papers published by the Journal ofInnovation in Health Informatics in 2017.

Genesis of a UK Faculty of Clinical Informatics at a time of anticipation for some, and ruby, golden and diamond celebrations for others

This Editorial marks the launch of the UK Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI) at the time when non-clinically qualified informaticiance are anticipating the lauch of the Federation of Informatics Professionals in Health and Care (Fed-IP).

The Multimorbidity Cluster Analysis Tool: Identifying Combinations and Permutations of Multiple Chronic Diseases Using a Record-Level Computational Analysis

Introduction: Multimorbidity, or the co-occurrence of multiple chronic health conditions within an individual, is an increasingly dominant presence and burden in modern health care systems. To fully capture its complexity, further research is needed to uncover the patterns and consequences of these co-occurring health states. As such, the Multimorbidity Cluster Analysis Tool and the accompanying Multimorbidity Cluster Analysis Toolkit have been created to allow researchers to identify distinct clusters that exist within a sample of participants or patients living with multimorbidity. Development: The Tool and Toolkit were developed at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. This open-access computational program (JAVA code and executable file) was developed and tested to support an analysis of thousands of individual records and up to 100 disease diagnoses or categories. Application: The computational program can be adapted to the methodological elements of a research project, including type of data, type of chronic disease reporting, measurement of multimorbidity, sample size and research setting. The computational program will identify all existing, and mutually exclusive, combinations and permutations within the dataset. An application of this computational program is provided as an example, in which more than 75,000 individual records and 20 chronic disease categories resulted in the detection of 10,411 unique combinations and 24,647 unique permutations among female and male patients. Discussion: The Tool and Toolkit are now available for use by researchers interested in exploring the complexities of multimorbidity. Its careful use, and the comparison between results, will be valuable additions to the nuanced understanding of multimorbidity.

Bespoke automation of medical workforce rostering using Google’s free cloud applications

Background: Providing safe and consistent care requires optimal deployment of medical staff. Ensuring this happens is a significant administrative burden due to complex working patterns.Objective: To describe a pilot feasibility study of the automation of medical duty rostering in a busy tertiary Ophthalmology department.Methods: A cloud based web application was created using Google’s free cloud services. Users access the system via a website which hosts live rosters, and use electronic forms to submit requests which are automatically handled by Google App Scripts.Results: Over a 2-year period (8/2014-6/2016), the system processed 563 leave requests and 300 on call swaps automatically. 3,300 emails and 1,000 forms were automatically generated. User satisfaction was 100% (n=24).Discussion: Many time consuming aspects of roster management were automated with significant time savings to all parties, allowing increased clinical time for doctors involved in administration. Planning for safe staffing levels was supported.

Research Outputs of England’s Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Database: Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Hospital administrative data, such as those provided by the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database in England, are increasingly being used for research and quality improvement. To date, no study has tried to quantify and examine trends in the use of HES for research purposes.Objective: To examine trends in the use of HES data for research.Methods: Publications generated from the use of HES data were extracted from PubMed and analysed. Publications from 1996 to 2014 were then examined further in the Science Citation Index (SCI) of the Thompson Scientific Institute for Science Information (Web of Science) for details of research specialty area.Results: 520 studies, categorised into 44 specialty areas, were extracted from PubMed. The review showed an increase in publications over the 18-year period with an average of 27 publications per year, however with the majority of output observed in the latter part of the study period. The highest number of publications was in the Health Statistics specialty area.Conclusion: The use of HES data for research is becoming more common. Increase in publications over time shows that researchers are beginning to take advantage of the potential of HES data. Although HES is a valuable database, concerns exist over the accuracy and completeness of the data entered. Clinicians need to be more engaged with HES for the full potential of this database to be harnessed.

Integrating third-party telehealth records with the general practice electronic medical record system: a solution.

Background: The implementation of telemonitoring at scale has been less successful than anticipated, often hindered by clinicians’ perceived increase in workload. One important factor has been the lack of integration of patient generated data (PGD) with the electronic medical record (EMR). Clinicians have had problems accessing PGD on telehealth systems especially in patient consultations in primary care.Objective: To design a method to produce a report of PGD that is available to clinicians through their routine EMR system.Method: We modelled a system with a use case approach using Unified Modelling Language to enable us to design a method of producing the required report. Anonymised PGD are downloaded from a third-party telehealth system to National Health Service (NHS) systems and linked to the patient record available in the hospital recording system using the patient NHS ID through an interface accessed by healthcare professionals. The telehealth data are then processed into a report using the patient record. This report summarises the readings in graphical and tabular form with an average calculated and with a recommended follow-up suggested if required. The report is then disseminated to general practitioner practices through routine document distribution pathways.Results: This addition to the telehealth system is viewed positively by clinicians. It has helped to greatly increase the number of general practices using telemonitoring to manage blood pressure in NHS Lothian.

Methods to Describe Referral Patterns in a Canadian Primary Care Electronic Medical Record Database: Modelling Multilevel Count Data

Background: A referral from a family physician (FP) to a specialist is an inflection point in the patient journey, with potential implications for clinical outcomes and health policy. Primary care electronic medical record (EMR) databases offer opportunities to examine referral patterns. Until recently, software techniques were not available to model these kinds of multi-level count data. Objective: To establish methodology for determining referral rates from FPs to medical specialists using the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) EMR database. Method: Retrospective cohort study, mixed effects and multi-level negative binomial regression modelling with 87,258 eligible patients between 2007 and 2012. Mean referrals compared by patient sex, age, chronic conditions, FP visits, and urban/rural practice location. Proportion of variance in referral rates attributable to the patient and practice levels. Results: On average, males had 0.26, and females 0.31 referrals in a 12-month period. Referrals were significantly higher for females, increased with age, FP visits, and number of chronic conditions (p<.0001). Overall, 14% of the variance in referrals could be attributed to the practice level, and 86% to patient level characteristics. Conclusions: Both patient and practice characteristics influenced referral patterns. The methodologic insights gained from this study have relevance to future studies on many research questions that utilize count data, both within primary care and broader health services research. The utility of the CPCSSN database will continue to increase in tandem with data quality improvements, providing a valuable resource to study Canadian referral patterns over time.

Assessing the readiness of precision medicine interoperabilty: An exploratory study of the National Institutes of Health genetic testing registry

Background: Precision medicine involves three major innovations currently taking place in healthcare: electronic health records, genomics, and big data. A major challenge for healthcare providers, however, is understanding the readiness for practical application of initiatives like precision medicine.Objective: To better understand the current state and challenges of precision medicine interoperability using a national genetic testing registry as a starting point, placed in the context of established interoperability formats.Methods: We performed an exploratory analysis of the National Institutes of Health Genetic Testing Registry. Relevant standards included Health Level Seven International Version 3 Implementation Guide for Family History, the Human Genome Organization Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) database, and Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT). We analyzed the distribution of genetic testing laboratories, genetic test characteristics, and standardized genome/clinical code mappings, stratified by laboratory setting.Results: There were a total of 25472 genetic tests from 240 laboratories testing for approximately 3632 distinct genes. Most tests focused on diagnosis, mutation confirmation, and/or risk assessment of germline mutations that could be passed to offspring. Genes were successfully mapped to all HGNC identifiers, but less than half of tests mapped to SNOMED CT codes, highlighting significant gaps when linking genetic tests to standardized clinical codes that explain the medical motivations behind test ordering. Conclusion: While precision medicine could potentially transform healthcare, successful practical and clinical application will first require the comprehensive and responsible adoption of interoperable standards, terminologies, and formats across all aspects of the precision medicine pipeline.

The challenge of involving elderly patients in primary care by using an electronic communication tool with their professionals: a mixed methods study

Background: Elderly patients in primary care often have multiple health problems,with different healthcare professionals involved. For consistency in care, it is required that communication amongst professionals and patient-systems (patient and informal-carers) be well tuned. Electronic-communication can make it easier for patient-system to be active in care.Objective: To examine whether an e-communication tool (Congredi) designed for professionals, including a care plan and secure e-mail, is usable for patient-systems and what their experiences are.Methods: In a multi-method study, home-dwelling elderly patients with two or more professionals were invited to use Congredi; data were gathered from the system after 42 weeks. Also semi-structured interviews were undertaken with patient-systems with topics retrieved from literature. Analysis took place by two researchers independently; the themes were extracted together by consensus.Results: Data about actual use of the tool were gathered from 22 patients. Four profiles of Congredi-users were distinguished, varying in intensity of use. Data from interviews with members of patient-systems (n = 7) showed that they were motivated and able to use Congredi. Barriers in daily use were limited participation of professionals, unanswered e-mail and not being alerted about actions. Despite limitations, patient-systems retained their motivation.Conclusion: Congredi was usable for patient-systems. The barriers found seem not to be tool-related but primarily user-related. An important barrier for daily use was limited active participation of involved professionals in a complete feedback loop. Potential for future implementation was found, as patient-systems were intrinsically motivated for better feedback with the professionals, even though in this study it only partly met their expectations.