Enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record Research Articles

Abstract #1384613: Statin Utilization Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes with and Without Cardiovascular Disease

Both American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines recommend that patients with diabetes between the ages of 40-75 years be prescribed at least a moderate-intensity statin. In all patients with diabetes who have established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), a high-intensity statin should be implemented as a secondary prevention measure. The purpose of this study was to assess the prescribing patterns of statin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with and without established CVD in our large integrated delivery system. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system at Cleveland Clinic to identify statin utilization among patients with T2D with and without CVD. A total of 74,949 patients were identified, 30,848 with established CVD, and 44,101 without. Among patients with and without established CVD, the mean age was 67 years and 62 years, 58% and 49% male, 73% and 72% white, 14% and 12% current smoker, median BMI 32 kg/m2 and 33 kg/m2, median eGFR 62 mL/min and 78 mL/min, and median A1c 6.9% and 6.9%, and median LDL 74 mg/dL and 84 mg/dL, respectively. Among patients with T2D without CVD, the rate of statin prescription at our institution was 60.4%, with 94% of those patients receiving at least a moderate-intensity statin (6.0% low-intensity, 59.1% moderate-intensity, 34.9% high-intensity). In patients with T2D and established CVD, the rate of statin prescription was 82.0%, with 59.3% receiving a high-intensity statin (3.7% low-intensity, 37% moderate-intensity). At our institution, only 60.4% of patients with T2D were prescribed statin therapy for primary prevention. However, among those, 94.0% were prescribed either a moderate- or high-intensity statin. While 82.0% of individuals with T2D and established CVD were prescribed a statin, only 59.3% were receiving high-intensity. These results have identified opportunities for improvement, including increasing the number of patients with T2D being prescribed at least moderate-intensity statin therapy for primary prevention, and ensuring that those being treated for secondary prevention are receiving high-intensity statin.

RF28 | PSUN182 Risk of Pancreatitis After Glp-1 Receptor Agonist in Individuals With Known History of Pancreatitis

Abstract Introduction Randomized clinical trials identified a small increased risk of acute pancreatitis in patients using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP1- RA) therapy. As a result, GLP-1RA therapy is generally avoided in patients with a history of acute pancreatitis. The aim of this report was to evaluate the real-world experience of GLP-1RA therapy in patients with a history of acute pancreatitis. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted (2010-2019) using the enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system. Patients with a history of acute pancreatitis and a subsequent encounter diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (ICD-9/ ICD-10 codes), after exposure to GLP-1R, were identified. Exposure to GLP-1RA was defined as a documented prescription for GLP-1RA in the EHR. Patients were followed until the date of recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) or censoring. Categorical and continuous variables were summarized using N (%) and mean (SD), respectively. Results A total of 161 patients were identified, 50.9% were female, 56.6% Caucasian, with mean age (years) 54 (±13) and mean BMI 35 kg/m2 (±8). Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity were present in 92.5% (N=149), 86.3% (N=139), and 73.9% (N=119), respectively. The mean duration of follow-up for all patients was 28.2 months (±24.6). The etiologies of the first documented episode of pancreatitis prior to GLP-1RA exposure were gall stones (N=49, 30.4%), alcoholism (N=21, 13%), hypertriglyceridemia (N=9, 5.6%), medication-induced N=5 (3.1%), and the remaining cases (N=77, 47.8%) were classified as idiopathic. Among these 161 patients, N=16 (9.9%) had a second episode of pancreatitis after GLP1-RA exposure. The mean duration of exposure to GLP-1RA prior to RAP was 10.8 months (±7.2). RAP was attributed to GLP 1-RA exposure N=6 (37.5%), alcohol intake N=2 (12.5%), hypertriglyceridemia N=3 (18.8%), oral hypoglycemic agent N=1 (6.2%), ampulla stenosis N=1 (6.2%), and the remaining N=3 (18.8%) were considered idiopathic. Conclusions Among 161 patients with a history of acute pancreatitis exposed to GLP-1RA, a total of 16 (9.9%) cases of RAP were identified, but only N=6 (4%) of these were determined attributable to GLP-1RA exposure. The overall rate of RAP among our cohort of GLP-1RA exposed patients (9.9%) is similar to the overall rate of RAP reported in the literature (12.7%), regardless of the underlying etiology or drug exposure.1 Acute pancreatitis related to drug exposure is a diagnosis of exclusion; thus, it is certainly possible that some of the cases in our report considered idiopathic were actually related to GLP-1RA exposure. While caution needs to be exercised, our data would support the use of GLP-1RA in patients with a history of acute pancreatitis, on an individualized basis, where the benefits are considered to outweigh the risks. References 1) Mallick et al. Differences between the outcome of recurrent acute pancreatitis and acute pancreatitis. JGH Open. 2018 Jun 6;2(4): 134-138. Presentation: Sunday, June 12, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 12:35 p.m.

OR01-3 Lack of Bone Mineral Density Testing in Men with Hypogonadism: A Clinical Conundrum

Abstract Objective Hypogonadism is a known risk factor for decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fractures in men. The 2012 Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend that men ≥ 50 years of age with a diagnosis of hypogonadism undergo BMD testing.1 The objective of this study was to determine the frequency at which men aged ≥ 50 with a diagnosis of hypogonadism underwent BMD testing, and among those that underwent testing, the percentage of men diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis and subsequently treated with an osteoporosis medication. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted using the enterprise-wide electronic health record system at our institution. Inclusion requirements were an ICD-9 or -10 code for hypogonadism at any time between 7/1/2012 and 9/30/2020, and at least two subsequent visits with providers from primary care, endocrinology, or urology. Patients with a diagnosis of osteoporosis or who had undergone treatment with an osteoporosis medication, prior to the diagnosis of hypogonadism, were excluded. Patients were followed until the date of BMD assessment or censoring (9/30/2021). The testing results and documentation of treatment with an osteoporosis medication were recorded. Categorical variables and continuous variables were summarized using N (%) and median (IQR) or mean (SD), respectively. Results A total of 10,169 men with hypogonadism were identified. General characteristics included mean age of 63.4 years (±9.2), 85.2% white, 52.7% with history of smoking, 68.2% with hypertension, 36.9% with type 2 diabetes, and mean BMI of 31.3 kg/m2 (±6.0). Median follow-up time was 6.6 years (3.8, 8.5). Of 728 (7.2%) patients who underwent BMD testing, 352 (48.4%) had osteopenia and 87 (12.0%) had osteoporosis. A total of 5,633 (55.4%) men underwent treatment with testosterone replacement therapy. Of the 87 patients identified as having osteoporosis, 50 (57.5%) were treated with an osteoporosis medication. Conclusion Despite a recommendation from the 2012 Endocrine Society for men ≥ 50 years of age with hypogonadism to undergo BMD testing, the rate at which this testing is performed in real-world practice is quite low. The high rate (60.3%) at which low BMD was discovered in hypogonadal men who underwent testing, and further observation of a low rate of treatment with osteoporosis medication when indicated, is alarming and necessitates a call to action for more hypogonadal men to undergo testing and receive appropriate treatment. Further studies are needed to determine the reasons why so few men with hypogonadism undergo BMD assessment and what systems can be put in place to overcome this clinical conundrum. Reference 1. Watts NB, et al. Osteoporosis in Men: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 97, Issue 6, 1 June 2012, Pages 1802–1822, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-304 Presentation: Saturday, June 11, 2022 12:00 p.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Successful Implementation of a Perioperative Data Warehouse Using Another Hospital's Published Specification From Epic's Electronic Health Record System.

Many hospitals have replaced their legacy anesthesia information management system with an enterprise-wide electronic health record system. Integrating the anesthesia data within the context of the global hospital information infrastructure has created substantive challenges for many organizations. A process to build a perioperative data warehouse from Epic was recently published from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), but the generalizability of that process is unknown. We describe the implementation of their process at the University of Miami (UM). The UCLA process was tested at UM, and performance was evaluated following the configuration of a reporting server and transfer of the required Clarity tables to that server. Modifications required for the code to execute correctly in the UM environment were identified and implemented, including the addition of locally specified elements in the database. The UCLA code to build the base tables in the perioperative data warehouse executed correctly after minor modifications to match the local server and database architecture at UM. The 26 stored procedures in the UCLA process all ran correctly using the default settings provided and populated the base tables. After modification of the item lists to reflect the UM implementation of Epic (eg, medications, laboratory tests, physiologic monitors, and anesthesia machine parameters), the UCLA code ran correctly and populated the base tables. The data from those tables were used successfully to populate the existing perioperative data warehouse at UM, which housed data from the legacy anesthesia information management system of the institution. The time to pull data from Epic and populate the perioperative data warehouse was 197 ± 47 minutes (standard deviation [SD]) on weekdays and 260 ± 56 minutes (SD) on weekend days, measured over 100 consecutive days. The longer times on weekends reflect the simultaneous execution of database maintenance tasks on the reporting server. The UCLA extract process has been in production at UM for the past 18 months and has been invaluable for quality assurance, business process, and research activities. The data schema developed at UCLA proved to be a practical and scalable method to extract information from the Epic electronic health system database into the perioperative data warehouse in use at UM. Implementing the process developed at UCLA to build a comprehensive perioperative data warehouse from Epic is an extensible process that other hospitals seeking more efficient access to their electronic health record data should consider.

Default Drug Doses in Anesthesia Information Management Systems.

In the United States, anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) are well established, especially within academic practices. Many hospitals are replacing their stand-alone AIMS during migration to an enterprise-wide electronic health record. This presents an opportunity to review choices made during the original implementation, based on actual usage. One area amenable to this informatics approach is the configuration in the AIMS of quick buttons for typical drug doses. The use of such short cuts, as opposed to manual typing of doses, simplifies and may improve the accuracy of drug documentation within the AIMS. We analyzed administration data from 3 different institutions, 2 of which had empirically configured default doses, and one in which defaults had not been set up. Our first hypothesis was that most (ie, >50%) of drugs would need at least one change to the existing defaults. Our second hypothesis was that for most (>50%) drugs, the 4 most common doses at the site lacking defaults would be included among the most common doses at the 2 sites with defaults. If true, this would suggest that having default doses did not affect the typical administration behavior of providers. The frequency distribution of doses for all drugs was determined, and the 4 most common doses representing at least 5% of total administrations for each drug were identified. The appropriateness of the current defaults was determined by the number of changes (0-4) required to match actual usage at the 2 hospitals with defaults. At the institution without defaults, the most frequent doses for the 20 most commonly administered drugs were compared with the default doses at the other institutions. At the 2 institutions with defaults, 84.7% and 77.5% of drugs required at least 1 change in the default drug doses (P < 10 for both compared with 50%), confirming our first hypothesis. At the institution lacking the default drug doses, 100% of the 20 most commonly administered doses (representing ≥5% of use for that drug) were included in the most commonly administered doses at the other 2 institutions (P < 10), confirming our second hypothesis. We recommend that default drug doses should be analyzed when switching to a new AIMS because most drugs needed at least one change. Such analysis is also recommended periodically so that defaults continue to reflect current practice. The use of default dose buttons does not appear to modify the selection of drug doses in clinical practice.

The Association Between Operating Room Personnel and Turnover With Surgical Site Infection in More Than 12 000 Neurosurgical Cases.

Surgical site infection (SSI) contributes significantly to postoperative morbidity and mortality and greatly increases the cost of care. To identify the impact of workflow and personnel-related risk factors contributing to the incidence of SSIs in a large sample of neurological surgeries. Data were obtained using an enterprisewide electronic health record system, operating room, and anesthesia records for neurological procedures conducted between January 1, 2009, and November 30, 2012. SSI data were obtained from prospective surveillance by infection preventionists using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. A multivariate model was constructed and refined using backward elimination logistic regression methods. The analysis included 12 528 procedures. Most cases were elective (94.5%), and the average procedure length was 4.8 hours. The average number of people present in the operating room at any time during the procedure was 10.0. The overall infection rate was 2.3%. Patient body mass index (odds ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.04) and sex (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07-1.72) as well as procedure length (odds ratio, 1.19 per additional hour; 95% CI, 1.15-1.23) and nursing staff turnovers (odds ratio, 1.095 per additional turnover; 95% CI, 1.02-1.21) were significantly correlated with the risk of SSI. This study found that patient body mass index and male sex were associated with an increased risk of SSI. Operating room personnel turnover, a modifiable, work flow-related factor, was an independent variable positively correlated with SSI. This study suggests that efforts to reduce operating room turnover may be effective in preventing SSI. OR, operating roomSSI, surgical site infection.

Influencing Anesthesia Provider Behavior Using Anesthesia Information Management System Data for Near Real-Time Alerts and Post Hoc Reports.

In this review article, we address issues related to using data from anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) to deliver near real-time alerts via AIMS workstation popups and/or alphanumeric pagers and post hoc reports via e-mail. We focus on reports and alerts for influencing the behavior of anesthesia providers (i.e., anesthesiologists, anesthesia residents, and nurse anesthetists). Multiple studies have shown that anesthesia clinical decision support (CDS) improves adherence to protocols and increases financial performance through facilitation of billing, regulatory, and compliance documentation; however, improved clinical outcomes have not been demonstrated. We inform developers and users of feedback systems about the multitude of concerns to consider during development and implementation of CDS to increase its effectiveness and to mitigate its potentially disruptive aspects. We discuss the timing and modalities used to deliver messages, implications of outlier-only versus individualized feedback, the need to consider possible unintended consequences of such feedback, regulations, sustainability, and portability among systems. We discuss statistical issues related to the appropriate evaluation of CDS efficacy. We provide a systematic review of the published literature (indexed in PubMed) of anesthesia CDS and offer 2 case studies of CDS interventions using AIMS data from our own institution illustrating the salient points. Because of the considerable expense and complexity of maintaining near real-time CDS systems, as compared with providing individual reports via e-mail after the fact, we suggest that if the same goal can be accomplished via delayed reporting versus immediate feedback, the former approach is preferable. Nevertheless, some processes require near real-time alerts to produce the desired improvement. Post hoc e-mail reporting from enterprise-wide electronic health record systems is straightforward and can be accomplished using system-independent pathways (e.g., via built-in e-mail support provided by the relational database management system). However, for some of these enterprise-wide systems, near real-time data access, necessary for CDS that generates concurrent alerts, has been challenging to implement.

Risk of overall mortality and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes on dual drug therapy including metformin: A large database study from the Cleveland Clinic.

The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of overall mortality, coronary artery disease (CAD), and congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with metformin (MF) and an additional antidiabetic agent. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using an academic health center enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system to identify 13,185 adult patients (>18 years) with T2DM from January 2008 to June 2013 and received a prescription for MF in combination with a sulfonylurea (SU; n = 9419), thiazolidinedione (TZD; n = 1846), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i; n = 1487), or a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1a; n = 433). Multivariate Cox models with propensity analysis were used to compare cohorts, with MF+SU serving as the comparator group. The mean (±SD) age was 60.6 ± 12.6 years, with 54.6% male and 75.8% Caucasians. The median follow-up was 4 years. There were 1077 deaths, 1733 CAD events, and 528 CHF events in 55,100 person-years of follow-up. A higher risk of CHF was observed with MF+DPP-4i use (hazard ratio [HR] 1.104; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.17; P = 0.001). A trend towards improved overall survival for users of MF+TZD (HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.74-1.0; P = 0.05) and MF+GLP-1a (HR 0.569; 95% CI 0.30-1.07; P = 0.08) was observed. No significant differences in the risk of CAD were identified. Consistent with recent studies, our results raise concern for an increased risk of CHF with use of DPP-4i.

The ongoing evolution of the core curriculum of a clinical fellowship in pathology informatics

The Partners HealthCare system's Clinical Fellowship in Pathology Informatics (Boston, MA, USA) faces ongoing challenges to the delivery of its core curriculum in the forms of: (1) New classes of fellows annually with new and varying educational needs and increasingly fractured, enterprise-wide commitments; (2) taxing electronic health record (EHR) and laboratory information system (LIS) implementations; and (3) increasing interest in the subspecialty at the academic medical centers (AMCs) in what is a large health care network. In response to these challenges, the fellowship has modified its existing didactic sessions and piloted both a network-wide pathology informatics lecture series and regular “learning laboratories”. Didactic sessions, which had previously included more formal discussions of the four divisions of the core curriculum: Information fundamentals, information systems, workflow and process, and governance and management, now focus on group discussions concerning the fellows’ ongoing projects, updates on the enterprise-wide EHR and LIS implementations, and directed questions about weekly readings. Lectures are given by the informatics faculty, guest informatics faculty, current and former fellows, and information systems members in the network, and are open to all professional members of the pathology departments at the AMCs. Learning laboratories consist of small-group exercises geared toward a variety of learning styles, and are driven by both the fellows and a member of the informatics faculty. The learning laboratories have created a forum for discussing real-time and real-world pathology informatics matters, and for incorporating awareness of and timely discussions about the latest pathology informatics literature. These changes have diversified the delivery of the fellowship's core curriculum, increased exposure of faculty, fellows and trainees to one another, and more equitably distributed teaching responsibilities among the entirety of the pathology informatics asset in the network. Though the above approach has been in place less than a year, we are presenting it now as a technical note to allow for further discussion of evolving educational opportunities in pathology informatics and clinical informatics in general, and to highlight the importance of having a flexible fellowship with active participation from its fellows.

Hypothyroidism as A Cause of Hyponatremia: Fact or Fiction?

To illustrate that severe primary hypothyroidism alone may not be enough to cause hyponatremia in the otherwise healthy ambulatory patient. A retrospective chart review was conducted using an academic health center enterprise-wide electronic health record to identify 10 patients with primary hypothyroidism and same-day serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), sodium, creatinine, and calculated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Same-day free triiodothyronine or free thyroxine was also recorded if tested. Patients were included in our case series if they met the following inclusion criteria: TSH level >100 μU/mL and same-day sodium and creatinine levels. All laboratory tests were collected on an outpatient basis. The 10 subjects (2 men and 8 women) were ages 19 to 97 years (median, 51.5 years). Median TSH was 193 μU/mL (range, 104.2 to 515.6 μU/mL; normal, 0.40 to 5.50 μU/mL) with median sodium of 138 mmol/L (range, 136 to 142 mmol/L; normal, 135 to 146 mmol/L). The lowest sodium was 136 mmol/L with concurrent TSH of 469.7 μU/mL, free triiodothyronine of 1.0 pg/mL (normal, 1.8 to 4.6 pg/mL), and free thyroxine of 0.2 ng/dL (normal, 0.7 to 1.8 ng/dL). Median GFR was 67.5 mL/min/1.73 m2 (range, 44 to 114 mL/min/1.73 m2; normal, 90 to 120 mL/min/1.73 m2). In our small series of patients with extreme TSH elevations, none had a serum sodium level below normal (<135 mmol/L), even in the presence of a reduced GFR. Hyponatremia can be a common occurrence in hospitalized and/or chronically ill patients; however, in an otherwise relatively healthy ambulatory patient, hypothyroidism, even when severely undertreated, may be a less clinically relevant cause of hyponatremia.

The risk of overall mortality in patients with Type 2 diabetes receiving different combinations of sulfonylureas and metformin: a retrospective analysis

Sulfonylureas have been shown to increase mortality when used in combination with metformin. This may not be a class effect of sulfonylureas, but rather secondary to differences in properties inherent to the individual sulfonylureas (hypoglycaemic risk, sulfonylurea receptor selectivity and effects on myocardial ischemic preconditioning). The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of overall mortality in patients with Type 2 diabetes treated with different combinations of sulfonylureas and metformin. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using an academic health center enterprise-wide electronic health record system to identify 7320 patients with Type 2 diabetes (3768 initiators of glyburide (glibenclamide) and metformin, 2277 initiators of glipizide and metformin and 1275 initiators of glimepiride and metformin), ≥ 18 years of age and not on insulin or a non-insulin injectable at baseline. The patients were followed for mortality by documentation in the electronic health record and Social Security Death Index. Multivariable Cox models with propensity analysis were used to compare cohorts. No statistically significant difference in overall mortality risk was observed among the different combinations of sulfonylureas and metformin: glimepiride and metformin vs. glipizide and metformin (HR 1.03; 95% CI 0.89-1.20), glimepiride and metformin vs. glyburide (glibenclamide) and metformin (HR 1.08; 95% CI 0.90-1.30), or with glipizide and metformin vs. glyburide (glibenclamide) and metformin (HR 1.05; 95% CI 0.95-1.15). Our results did not identify an increased mortality risk among the different combinations of sulfonylureas and metformin, suggesting that overall mortality is not substantially influenced by the choice of sulfonylurea.

Increase in overall mortality risk in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving glipizide, glyburide or glimepiride monotherapy versus metformin: a retrospective analysis

It remains uncertain if differences in mortality risk exist among the sulfonylureas, especially in patients with documented coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study was to assess the overall mortality risk of the individual sulfonylureas versus metformin in a large cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using an academic health centre enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system to identify 23 915 patients with type 2 diabetes who initiated monotherapy with metformin (N = 12774), glipizide (N = 4325), glyburide (N = 4279) or glimepiride (N = 2537), ≥ 18 years of age, with and without a history of CAD, and not on insulin or a non-insulin injectable at baseline. The patients were followed for mortality by documentation in the EHR and Social Security Death Index. Multivariable Cox models with propensity analysis were used to compare cohorts. An increase in overall mortality risk was observed in the entire cohort with glipizide (HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.39-1.94), glyburide (HR 1.59; 95% CI 1.35-1.88), and glimepiride (HR 1.68; 95% CI 1.37-2.06) versus metformin; however, in those patients with documented CAD, a statistically significant increase in overall mortality risk was only found with glipizide (HR 1.41; 95% CI 1.07-1.87) and glyburide (HR 1.38; 95% CI 1.04-1.83) versus metformin. Glipizide, glyburide and glimepiride are associated with an increased risk of overall mortality versus metformin. Our results suggest that if a sulfonylurea is required to obtain glycaemic control, glimepiride may be the preferred sulfonylurea in those with underlying CAD.

The Risk of Overall Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Receiving Glipizide, Glyburide, or Glimepiride Monotherapy

OBJECTIVESulfonylureas have historically been analyzed as a medication class, which may be inappropriate given the differences in properties inherent to the individual sulfonylureas (hypoglycemic risk, sulfonylurea receptor selectivity, and effects on myocardial ischemic preconditioning). The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of individual sulfonylureas and the risk of overall mortality in a large cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA retrospective cohort study was conducted using an academic health center enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) system to identify 11,141 patients with type 2 diabetes (4,279 initiators of monotherapy with glyburide, 4,325 initiators of monotherapy with glipizide, and 2,537 initiators of monotherapy with glimepiride), ≥18 years of age with and without a history of coronary artery disease (CAD) and not on insulin or a noninsulin injectable at baseline. The patients were followed for mortality by documentation in the EHR and Social Security Death Index. Multivariable Cox models were used to compare cohorts.RESULTSNo statistically significant difference in the risk of overall mortality was observed among these agents in the entire cohort, but we did find evidence of a trend toward an increased overall mortality risk with glyburide versus glimepiride (hazard ratio 1.36 [95% CI 0.96–1.91]) and glipizide versus glimepiride (1.39 [0.99–1.96]) in those with documented CAD.CONCLUSIONSOur results did not identify an increased mortality risk among the individual sulfonylureas but did suggest that glimepiride may be the preferred sulfonylurea in those with underlying CAD.

Effect of the implementation of an enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record on productivity in the Veterans Health Administration

Since 1995, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has had an ongoing process of systems improvement that has led to dramatic improvement in the quality of care delivered. A major component of the redesign of the VHA has been the creation of a fully developed enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record (EHR). VHA's Health Information Technology was developed in a collaborative fashion between local clinical champions and central software engineers. Successful national EHR implementation was achieved by 1999, since when the VHA has been able to increase its productivity by nearly 6 per cent per year.