Research at Kaiser Permanente shows better outcomes when using electronic health records data to identify patients at high risk for kidney disease.
Nephrologists in Hawaii used electronic laboratory results to rank more than 10,000 kidney patients, not yet referred to a specialist, by their risk for kidney failure. Patients most at risk were monitored to ensure they were getting best-practice treatment.
The nephrologists also used Kaiser's EHR to review patients' records and provide an electronic consult to patients' primary care physicians. They either recommended a referral for more intensive specialty care or gave the primary care physicians a treatment plan.
Consequently, affected patients got the treatment they needed quicker, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. "Results of the five-year project showed it increased early intervention for high-risk patients and reduced by two-thirds the number of late specialist referrals--those occurring within four months of the onset of end-stage renal disease."
Study results are available for purchase at bmj.com/cgi/search?fulltext=Kaiser&sortspec=date&x=0&y=0.
--Joseph Goedert
JUL 9, 2009 5:12pm ET
Study: EHRs Boost Kidney Disease Outcomes
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