The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes many guidelines and recommendations for the prevention of diseases, injuries, and disabilities. These are also currently made available in electronic format on the Internet to facilitate rapid access. However, the time pressures of patient care can make even Internet-based access to guidelines problematic. The increasing use of electronic medical records (EMR) provides a new and potentially powerful mechanism for the dissemination and integration of all types of guidelines at the point of care. Prior research has demonstrated clearly that guideline compliance by providers is greatly enhanced when the relevant information is provided automatically during the clinical encounter. To enable CDC guidelines to be used in this manner, we are investigating the feasibility of encoding selected guidelines in a standard executable format, such as the GuideLine Interchange Format (GLIF) or Arden syntax to facilitate their incorporation into EMR systems. Once guidelines are encoded in this manner, it is possible to make their recommendations available through an EMR and determine whether this can be an effective dissemination strategy. We will present the results of these efforts to improve compliance with CDC prevention guidelines.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participants will be able to (1) understand the advantages of formal encoding of guideline recommendations, (2) define the purpose of integrating guidelines into clinical practice at the point of care, and (3) describe the steps involved in encoding guidelines into a standard executable format
Keywords: Information Technology, Infrastructure
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.