Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
04:53
A Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety, Efficacy, and Delivery of Olive-Oil-Based Three-Chamber Bags for Parenteral Nutrition
Published on: September 20, 2019
Information technology and medical missteps: evidence from a randomized trial
Jonathan C Javitt1, James B Rebitzer, Lonny Reisman
1Health Directions, 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, United States.
Journal of Health Economics
|January 18, 2008
Summary
A new decision support tool reduced healthcare charges by 6% for commercial HMO patients. This technology improved issue resolution, potentially enhancing care quality and protocol adoption.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Clinical Decision Support Systems
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Medical errors and missteps contribute to increased healthcare costs.
- Physician adherence to clinical evidence and protocols can be variable.
- Information technology offers potential solutions for improving healthcare delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a decision support tool on healthcare resource utilization.
- To assess the effect of the technology on the detection and correction of medical missteps.
- To determine if the tool influences care quality and protocol implementation.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial was conducted.
- The study population comprised commercial Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) patients.
- Data analysis focused on comparing charges and issue resolution rates between the intervention and control groups.
Main Results:
- The decision support tool led to a 6% reduction in average healthcare charges.
- Resource utilization decreased, primarily driven by lower in-patient and professional charges for high-cost patients.
- The study group demonstrated a higher rate of issue resolution compared to the control group.
Conclusions:
- Decision support technology can effectively reduce healthcare costs.
- The tool shows potential for improving care quality and facilitating the adoption of new clinical evidence.
- Targeting high-cost patients may be a key factor in achieving significant cost savings.
More Related Videos
08:33A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial of Cranial Electrical Stimulation for Fibromyalgia Pain and Physical Function, Using Brain Imaging Biomarkers
Published on: January 5, 2024
06:28E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:11Blinding
Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.
01:16Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are prospective experimental studies conducted on humans to determine the safety and efficacy of treatments, drugs, diet methods, and medical devices. Using statistics in clinical trials enables researchers to derive reasonable and accurate conclusions from the collected data, allowing them to make wise decisions in uncertain situations. In medical research, statistical methods are crucial for preventing errors and bias.
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...
02:07Blind Procedures
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was...
01:12Hazard Ratio
The hazard ratio (HR) is a widely used measure in clinical trials to compare the risk of events, such as death or disease recurrence, between two groups over time. It reflects the ratio of hazard rates—the instantaneous risk of the event occurring—between a treatment group and a control group. This measure provides valuable insights into the relative effectiveness of a treatment by assessing how the risk of an event differs between the two groups.
For example, in a clinical trial evaluating a...
For example, in a clinical trial evaluating a...
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when researchers try to extrapolate results...