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IT in the ED: a new section of Pediatric Emergency Care
Joseph J Zorc1, Jeffrey M Hoffman, Marvin B Harper
1Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399, USA. zorc@email.chop.edu
Insights
Information technology (IT) in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) presents unique challenges. This paper proposes a new journal section to share best practices and research on IT for improving pediatric emergency care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Health Information Technology
Background:
- Information technology (IT) has transformed healthcare delivery over the last decade.
- Pediatric emergency departments (EDs) pose unique challenges for bedside IT system implementation due to rapid, unscheduled care and complex patient needs.
- Current health IT reviews show mixed outcomes, including safety risks, usability issues for clinicians, and unrealized potential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the sparse medical literature on IT systems in pediatric EDs.
- To establish a dedicated platform for sharing research and best practices in pediatric emergency care IT.
- To encourage innovative approaches and foster expertise in informatics for pediatric emergency medicine.
Main Methods:
- Proposal for a new journal section focused on IT in Pediatric Emergency Care.
- Encouraging original research articles and reviews on IT applications for acutely ill and injured children.
- Promoting innovative approaches and contributions from physicians in training.
Main Results:
- Identification of a critical need for improved IT systems in pediatric EDs.
- Recognition of mixed outcomes and usability deficits with current health IT.
- Highlighting the lack of established methods for sharing best practices across institutions and vendors.
Conclusions:
- A new journal section is proposed to advance the application of IT in pediatric emergency care.
- This initiative aims to improve the care of acutely ill and injured children through informatics.
- Fostering expertise in informatics is crucial for the future of pediatric emergency medicine.
Abstract:
Information technology (IT) has profoundly changed the delivery of health care during the past decade. The pediatric emergency department (ED) represents a specific challenge for applying IT systems to the patient bedside. The rapid pace and unscheduled nature of the ED, the breadth of care delivered, and the range of medical, ethical, cultural, and process issues presented by pediatric patients make this a setting in particular need of thoughtfully designed and usable IT systems. However, reviews of the current state of health IT have documented mixed outcomes, including safety risks introduced by IT systems, significant deficits in usability for clinicians, and unrealized potential. Although some publications have presented methods and outcomes of IT systems in the pediatric ED, the current medical literature is sparse. Professional organizations have not developed successful methods to share best practices across institutions and IT vendors. The authors propose a new section of this journal focused on the application of IT systems to Pediatric Emergency Care. The section will include original research articles and reviews focusing on the application of IT to improve care of acutely ill and injured children. Innovative approaches and articles by physicians in training are particularly encouraged to develop new expertise in informatics within this and related specialties.
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