Information Systems and Patient Care

1. Information Systems and Patient Care Jenna Hetland

2. Overview • Prevalence and Causes of Medical Errors • Current Research and Solutions • Emergence of Intelligent Agents • Proposed Direction of Research

3. Prevalence and Causes of Medical Errors • Between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths attributed to medical error each year • Adverse drug events alone account for over 7,000 deaths annually • More than workplace injuries • These figures are for deaths only, not occurrences

4. Prevalence and Causes of Medical Errors • Errors are a systems problem, not the result of individual carelessness • Other high-risk industries have abandoned the error-free operator mentality • Attacking problems from a systems viewpoint has proven successful • Errors are not discrete events • Systems are constantly changing

5. Current Research and Solutions • Error reporting systems • Personnel must accurately recall the events surrounding the incident • Error would need to be reported multiple times before root cause could be identified • A reactive solution

6. Current Research and Solutions • Implementation of Information Systems • Many have been aimed at optimizing time resources of medical personnel • Are task-specific • Current systems do not promote the qualities necessary for effective information systems • Over half have failed because of resistance on behalf of medical personnel

7. Emergence of Intelligent Agents • An alternative to traditional systems • Possess many qualities suitable for use in the healthcare domain • Support initiatives necessary for effective information systems • Preliminary investigation has shown them to be effective • Obstacles still remain

8. Proposed Direction of Research • Integrate essential tasks as well as optimize conditions for the patient • Use of patient-centric autonomous agents • Occurrence of adverse drug events within the prescription renewal process • Great deal of information passed between personnel • Monetary discrepancy

9. Questions?