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Enhanced identification of eligibility for depression research using an electronic medical record search engine.

TitleEnhanced identification of eligibility for depression research using an electronic medical record search engine.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsSeyfried, L, Hanauer, DA, Nease, D, Albeiruti, R, Kavanagh, J, Kales, HC
JournalInt J Med Inform
Volume78
Issue12
Paginatione13-8
Date Published2009 Dec
ISSN1872-8243
KeywordsBiomedical Research, Decision Making, Depression, Electronic Health Records, Humans, Medical Records Systems, Computerized, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Search Engine
Abstract

PURPOSE: Electronic medical records (EMRs) have become part of daily practice for many physicians. Attempts have been made to apply electronic search engine technology to speed EMR review. This was a prospective, observational study to compare the speed and clinical accuracy of a medical record search engine vs. manual review of the EMR.METHODS: Three raters reviewed 49 cases in the EMR to screen for eligibility in a depression study using the electronic medical record search engine (EMERSE). One week later raters received a scrambled set of the same patients including 9 distractor cases, and used manual EMR review to determine eligibility. For both methods, accuracy was assessed for the original 49 cases by comparison with a gold standard rater.RESULTS: Use of EMERSE resulted in considerable time savings; chart reviews using EMERSE were significantly faster than traditional manual review (p=0.03). The percent agreement of raters with the gold standard (e.g. concurrent validity) using either EMERSE or manual review was not significantly different.CONCLUSIONS: Using a search engine optimized for finding clinical information in the free-text sections of the EMR can provide significant time savings while preserving clinical accuracy. The major power of this search engine is not from a more advanced and sophisticated search algorithm, but rather from a user interface designed explicitly to help users search the entire medical record in a way that protects health information.

DOI10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2009.05.002
Alternate JournalInt J Med Inform
PubMed ID19560962
PubMed Central IDPMC2784251
Grant ListR21 MH073002 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R21 MH073002-01A2 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R21MH073002 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
People: 
David Hanauer
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center at North Campus Research Complex
1600 Huron Parkway, Bldg 100, Rm 1004 
Mailing Address: 2800 Plymouth Rd, NCRC 100-1004
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800 

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institutes of
Health under Award Number P30CA046592. The content is solely the responsibility
of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the
National Institutes of Health.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institutes of
Health under Award Number P30CA046592 by the use of the following Cancer Center
Shared Resource(s): Biostatistics, Analytics & Bioinformatics; Flow Cytometry;
Transgenic Animal Models; Tissue and Molecular Pathology; Structure & Drug
Screening; Cell & Tissue Imaging; Experimental Irradiation; Preclinical
Imaging & Computational Analysis; Health Communications; Immune Monitoring;
Pharmacokinetics)

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