Cell Therapy Informatics: Updates on the Integration of HCT/IEC Functionalities into an Electronic Medical Record System in the US to Promote Efficiency, Patient Safety, Research, and Data Interoperability

Abstract

The use of electronic health/medical record (EMR) systems has streamlined medical practice and improved efficiency of clinical care in recent years. However, EMR systems are not generally well designed to support research and tracking of longitudinal outcomes across populations, which are particularly important in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) and immune effector cell therapy (IEC), where data reporting to registries and regulatory agencies are often required. Since its formation in 2014, the HCT EMR user group has worked with a large EMR vendor (Epic) to develop many functionalities within the EMR to improve the care of HCT/IEC patients and facilitate the capture of HCT/IEC data in an easily interoperable format. Awareness and the widespread adoption of these new tools among transplant centers remains a challenge, however. In this report, we aim to increase awareness and adoption of these new features in the Epic EMR across the transplantation community, advocate for the use of data standards, and promote future collaboration with other commercial EMRs to develop standardized HCT/IEC content to improve patient care and facilitate interoperable data exchange.