Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25387758›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2014

How context affects electronic health record-based test result follow-up: a mixed-methods evaluation.

Shailaja Menon, Michael W Smith, Dean F Sittig, Nancy J Petersen, Sylvia J Hysong, Donna Espadas, Varsha Modi, Hardeep Singh

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
10.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Communicating blood test results in primary care: a mixed-methods systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shailaja MenonDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Michael W SmithDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Dean F SittigDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5811-8915
Nancy J PetersenUniversity of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics and the UT-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality & Safety, Houston, Texas, USA.
Sylvia J HysongDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Donna EspadasDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Varsha ModiDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Hardeep SinghDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Section of Health Services Research, Houston, Texas, USA.
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center · USMemorial Hermann · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesElectronic health record (EHR)-based alerts can facilitate transmission of test results to healthcare providers, helping ensure timely and appropriate follow-up. However, failure to follow-up on abnormal test results (missed test results) persists in EHR-enabled healthcare settings. We aimed to identify contextual factors associated with facility-level variation in missed test results within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. DESIGN, SETTING AND

participantsBased on a previous survey, we categorised VA facilities according to primary care providers' (PCPs') perceptions of low (n=20) versus high (n=20) risk of missed test results. We interviewed facility representatives to collect data on several contextual factors derived from a sociotechnical conceptual model of safe and effective EHR use. We compared these factors between facilities categorised as low and high perceived risk, adjusting for structural characteristics.

resultsFacilities with low perceived risk were significantly more likely to use specific strategies to prevent alerts from being lost to follow-up (p=0.0114). Qualitative analysis identified three high-risk scenarios for missed test results: alerts on tests ordered by trainees, alerts 'handed off' to another covering clinician (surrogate clinician), and alerts on patients not assigned in the EHR to a PCP. Test result management policies and procedures to address these high-risk situations varied considerably across facilities.

conclusionsOur study identified several scenarios that pose a higher risk for missed test results in EHR-based healthcare systems. In addition to implementing provider-level strategies to prevent missed test results, healthcare organisations should consider implementing monitoring systems to track missed test results.

Indexed as

Electronic Health RecordsFollow-Up StudiesDiagnostic Tests, RoutineHumansLost to Follow-UpSurveys and QuestionnairesDiagnostic ErrorsElecronic Health RecordsMissed Test ResultsPatient Follow-upPatient SafetySocial-Technical Model

Identifiers

PMID25387758
PMCPMC4244393
OpenAlexW2105707885

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.