RESUMO
The Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act, which mandates electronic sharing of standardized patient data by post-acute care clinical settings, will likely spur further health information technology adoption and evaluation. To support evaluation, the study objective was to clarify components of an evidence-based health information technology evaluation framework, Health Information Technology Reference-based Evaluation Framework, by using the framework in home healthcare and incorporating a sociotechnical perspective in the health information technology evaluation. With 36 observations among three diverse home healthcare agencies, researchers conducted a recorded think-aloud process as nurses documented the home healthcare admission in the EHR. Thematic analysis revealed 15 themes that provided clarification for almost one-third of Health Information Technology Reference-based Evaluation Framework components and added a new concept. All themes reflected a sociotechnical perspective. The new theme added to the Health Information Technology Reference-based Evaluation Framework reflected the sociotechnical perspective: routine use. We anticipate the enhanced Health Information Technology Reference-based Evaluation Framework to be used by evaluators from diverse disciplines, to further facilitate context-dependent health information technology adoption in post-acute care settings.
Assuntos
Agências de Assistência Domiciliar , Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Informática Médica , Idoso , Registros Eletrônicos de Saúde , Humanos , Medicare , Cuidados Semi-Intensivos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Characterize the work that home health care (HHC) admission nurses complete as part of the medication reconciliation tasks, explore the impact of shared electronic medication data (interoperability) from the referral source on medication reconciliation, and highlight opportunities to enhance medication reconciliation with respect to transition in care to HHC agencies. DESIGN: Observational field study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Three diverse Pennsylvania HHC agencies; each used different electronic health record systems with different interoperability characteristics. Six nurses per site admitted 2 patients each (36 patients total). METHODS: Researchers observed the admission process in the patient home and at the HHC agency. The nurses' tasks related to medication reconciliation were characterized by (1) number and change types (ie, medications dropped or added; changes to dose, frequency/administration time, or tablet types) made to the referrer medication list during and after the home visit, and (2) reasons that the nurse called the health provider (doctor, pharmacy) to resolve medication-related issues. Differences between interoperable and non-interoperable observations were explored. RESULTS: Polypharmacy (on average, study patients were taking more than 12 medications) and high-risk medications (on average, more than 8 per patient) were pervasive. For 91% of patients, the number of medications decreased between pre- and post-reconciliation medication lists; 41% of the medications required changes. Nurses using interoperable systems needed to make fewer changes than nurses using non-interoperable systems. In two-thirds of observations, the nurse called a provider. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Changes to the referrer medication list and calls to providers highlighted the nurses' effort to complete the medication reconciliation. Interoperability appeared to reduce the number of changes required, but did not eliminate changes or calls to providers. We highlight opportunities to enhance medication reconciliation with respect to transition in care to HHC agencies.
Assuntos
Agências de Assistência Domiciliar , Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Humanos , Reconciliação de Medicamentos , Pennsylvania , PolimedicaçãoRESUMO
Hearing loss is a frequent sensory impairment in humans and genetic factors account for an elevated fraction of the cases. We have investigated a large family of five generations, with 15 reported individuals presenting non-syndromic, sensorineural, bilateral and progressive hearing loss, segregating as an autosomal dominant condition. Linkage analysis, using SNP-array and selected microsatellites, identified a region of near 13 cM in chromosome 20 as the best candidate to harbour the causative mutation. After exome sequencing and filtering of variants, only one predicted deleterious variant in the NCOA3 gene (NM_181659, c.2810C > G; p.Ser937Cys) fit in with our linkage data. RT-PCR, immunostaining and in situ hybridization showed expression of ncoa3 in the inner ear of mice and zebrafish. We generated a stable homozygous zebrafish mutant line using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. ncoa3-/- did not display any major morphological abnormalities in the ear, however, anterior macular hair cells showed altered orientation. Surprisingly, chondrocytes forming the ear cartilage showed abnormal behaviour in ncoa3-/-, detaching from their location, invading the ear canal and blocking the cristae. Adult mutants displayed accumulation of denser material wrapping the otoliths of ncoa3-/- and increased bone mineral density. Altered zebrafish swimming behaviour corroborates a potential role of ncoa3 in hearing loss. In conclusion, we identified a potential candidate gene to explain hereditary hearing loss, and our functional analyses suggest subtle and abnormal skeletal behaviour as mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of progressive sensory function impairment.