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Published on: October 16, 2013
Standardizing visual display of gastrointestinal pathology results for improved clinical interpretation
Jeannie S Huang1,2,3, Ann Lindgren2, David J Katibian1,3
1Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA.
Insights
Standardized pathology reports for pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were successfully implemented using electronic medical record (EMR) synoptic report templates (PSRTs). These PSRTs demonstrated high user acceptance and 100% utilization, improving data standardization and presentation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Pathology Informatics
- Clinical Informatics
Background:
- Pathology reporting in pediatric gastroenterology, particularly for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), lacks standardization, leading to variable data collection and interpretation.
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems offer a platform for standardizing pathology reporting through Pathology Synoptic Report Templates (PSRTs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop, implement, and evaluate EMR-based PSRTs for pediatric EoE and IBD to standardize pathology reporting.
- To assess user acceptance and utilization of these standardized reporting tools.
Main Methods:
- PSRTs for EoE and IBD were created by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric allergy, gastroenterology, and pathology experts.
- User acceptance was measured using Likert surveys based on the Technology Acceptance Model.
- PSRT utilization was tracked using control charts.
Main Results:
- Evaluation questionnaires achieved over 80% response rates, with clinicians and pathologists reporting moderate-to-high perceived usefulness and ease of use for both EoE and IBD PSRTs.
- Control charts indicated 100% utilization of the PSRTs within 2-5 months of their launch.
- The developed PSRTs were well-received, showing strong acceptance among end-users.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully demonstrates the implementation of synoptic reporting for pediatric EoE and IBD pathology using EMR PSRTs.
- EMR synoptic reporting standardizes pathology data, enhances data presentation, and has the potential to improve provider efficiency, clinical interpretation, patient care, and satisfaction.
Objectives:
Pathology is an essential component of disease diagnosis and management in pediatric gastroenterology. Pathology reports have not been standardized in some areas of pediatric gastrointestinal pathology and pathology reporting varies. Development of electronic medical record (EMR) pathology synoptic report templates (PSRT) enables pathology data collection in a specific format and can help standardize pathology reporting. We developed, implemented, and evaluated EMR PSRTs for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Methods:
PSRTs were developed by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric experts of allergy, gastroenterology, and pathology for both EoE and IBD based on available literature and validated scales. Likert surveys (range 1 low acceptance to 5 high acceptance) based on the Technology Acceptance Model assessed user acceptance of the developed PSRTs. The use of PSRTs was monitored via control charts.
Results:
Overall, evaluation questionnaires achieved >80% response rates. Clinicians and pathologists reported moderate-to-high levels of Perceived Usefulness (median (interquartile range) for EoE PSRT: clinicians 4.0 (4.0, 5.0) and pathologists 3.5 (3.5, 4.0); and IBD PSRT: clinicians 4.0 (3.0, 4.0) and pathologists 4.0 (4.0, 5.0)) and Perceived Ease of Use (EoE PSRT: clinicians 4.5 (4.0, 5.0) and pathologists 4.0 (4.0, 4.0); and IBD PSRT: clinicians 4.0 (4.0, 5.0) and pathologists 4.0 (4.0, 5.0)) of the developed PSRTs. Control charts demonstrated 100% utilization by 2-5 months from launch.
Conclusions:
We demonstrate successful implementation of synoptic reporting for both pediatric EoE and IBD pathology. EMR synoptic reporting provides standardization of pathology reporting and improved methods of pathology data presentation, which could potentially optimize provider efficiency, clinician interpretation of pathology results and disease trajectory, patient care, and clinician satisfaction.
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