The Elements of Style for Interruptive Electronic Health Record Alerts

Area of Science:

• Clinical Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Widespread electronic health record (EHR) alerts contribute to significant alert fatigue and clinician burnout.
• This fatigue undermines clinical decision support effectiveness and compromises patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a comprehensive style guide for designing interruptive alerts (IAs) within EHR systems.
• The guide aims to improve clinician engagement and mitigate alert fatigue.
• It has been approved by institutional alert governance committees.

Main Methods:

• The style guide addresses key IA design elements: format, typography, color coding, title brevity, patient identification, and introductory text.
• It specifies the use of typographic emphasis, response options, default actions, and opt-out mechanisms.
• Emphasis is placed on creating clear, concise, and actionable alerts considering clinician workflow and cognitive load.

Main Results:

• Development and approval of a standardized style guide for EHR interruptive alerts (IAs).
• The guide provides specific recommendations for alert design to reduce cognitive burden.
• Focus on actionable and workflow-integrated alert presentation.

Conclusions:

• A standardized IA style guide can improve clinician experience and patient outcomes by reducing alert fatigue.
• Continuous evaluation and feedback are crucial for maintaining alert effectiveness in dynamic clinical settings.
• Implementing this guide supports better patient care through optimized clinical decision support.