Eating disorder risk identification through embedded electronic medical record prompting

Area of Science:

• Gynecology
• Public Health
• Mental Health Screening

Background:

• Eating disorders pose significant health risks, particularly among college-aged women.
• Early detection is crucial for effective intervention and treatment.
• Current screening methods in college health settings may not be universally applied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if electronic medical record (EMR) prompts enhance universal screening for eating disorders.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the SCOFF tool in a college gynecology clinic setting.
• To compare eating disorder risk identification rates before and after implementing EMR-prompted screening.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 111 female patients (ages 18-37) in a university health clinic participated.
• Clinicians utilized EMR prompts to administer the 5-item SCOFF questionnaire for eating disorder risk assessment.
• Risk identification data was compared to the previous year's data, which lacked universal screening.

Main Results:

• EMR-prompted universal screening with the SCOFF tool led to significantly improved eating disorder risk identification (p = .0047).
• The SCOFF tool demonstrated high sensitivity (87.5%) and specificity (95%) in identifying eating disorder risk.
• This method showed a marked improvement over previous symptom-based identification.

Conclusions:

• Integrating the SCOFF tool with EMR prompting is an effective strategy for improving eating disorder risk detection.
• Universal screening in college gynecology clinics can enhance early identification and intervention for eating disorders.
• This EMR-integrated approach offers a scalable solution for mental health screening in primary care settings.