Developing and Pilot Testing an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)-Based Allergen Immunotherapy Template

Abstract

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) schedules are commonly documented through paper-based records. We recently developed an electronic medical record (EMR)-based AIT template. We describe the results of pilot testing this EMR-based program. We developed an AIT template for our institution’s Centricity EMR system. During pilot testing, we evaluated patients from two groups (EMR- and paper-based immunotherapy schedules). All patients received a survey (items included injection reaction, satisfaction with the injection encounter). We evaluated the actual time (patient entering treatment room to injection administration) for patients in both groups. We compared results between the paper-based and EMR-based groups. We observed 32 patients receiving AIT at our Allergy clinic. There were 17 patients (6 males, 11 females; median age 44 years) in the paper-based group, and 15 patients (3 males, 12 females, median age 42 years) in the EMR-based group. Injection reactions occurred in 18% of the paper-based group and 33% of the EMR-based group (p=0.11), and all symptoms were minor (local swelling, pruritus). All patients in both groups reported satisfaction with the injection encounter. Mean actual times in the paper-based and EMR groups were 4.86 minutes and 5.89 minutes, respectively (p<0.0001). The EMR-based immunotherapy template was linked to longer visit times compared to the paper-based form, and all patients in both groups were satisfied. Further studies may indicate whether the EMR-based template is clinically safe and time efficient.