Adding clinical decision support tools to the EHR can help improve interventions efficiency and metrics tracking required by antimicrobial stewardship standards, according to a report published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
In the paper, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America recommends using CDS tools and the EHR to enhance antimicrobial use, which includes antibiotics and other medications that prevent and treat diseases and infections caused by microorganisms.
"While existing systems may present challenges, when used optimally, informatics can create readily available tools for local and national reporting, help guide appropriate antimicrobial prescribing that improves selection, dosing and duration of therapy, and serve as an educational reference for trainees and providers," Kristi Kuper, PharmD, senior clinical manager for infectious diseases in the Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence at Vizient and lead author of the paper, said in a news release.
To close the gap in hospitals' existing IT systems, SHEA provided the following recommendations:
1. Improve documentation processes for CDS and EHR tools to decrease provider burden.
2. Enhance patient outcomes tracking and report abilities in the EHR.
3. Develop user networks to collaborate on best methods used for developing rules and reports.
To access the full report, click here.