Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32998169›Full record

ArticleApplied clinical informatics2020

Accuracy of the Preferred Language Field in the Electronic Health Records of Two Canadian Hospitals.

Akshay Rajaram, Daniel Thomas, Faten Sallam, Amol A Verma, Shail Rawal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Applied clinical informatics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  12. Clinical evaluation of a machine learning-based early warning system for patient deterioration.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2024
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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

5 authors.

Akshay RajaramDepartment of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Daniel ThomasSchool of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Faten SallamLi Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Amol A VermaLi Ka Shing Centre for Healthcare Analytics Research and Training and Division of General Internal Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Shail RawalDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe collection of race, ethnicity, and language (REaL) data from patients is advocated as a first step to identify, monitor, and improve health inequities. As a result, many health care institutions collect patients' preferred languages in their electronic health records (EHRs). These data may be used in clinical care, research, and quality improvement. However, the accuracy of EHR language data are rarely assessed.

objectivesThis study aimed to audit the accuracy of EHR language data at two academic hospitals in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

methodsThe EHR language was compared with a patient's stated preferred language by interview. Language was dichotomized to English or non-English. Agreement between language documented in the EHR and patient-reported preferred language was calculated using sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV).

resultsA total of 323 patients were interviewed, including 96 with a stated non-English preferred language. The sensitivity of the EHR for English-language preference was high at both hospitals: 100% at hospital A with a PPV of 88%, and 99% at hospital B with a PPV of 85%. However, the sensitivity of the EHR for non-English preference differed greatly between the two hospitals. The sensitivity was 81% with a PPV of 100% at hospital A and the sensitivity was 12% with a PPV of 60% at hospital B.

conclusionThe accuracy of the EHR for identifying non-English language preference differed greatly between the hospitals studied. Language data must be accurate for it to be used, and regular quality assurance is required.

Indexed as

Electronic Health RecordsLanguageCanadaHospitalsMedical AuditPredictive Value of TestsQuality Control

Identifiers

PMID32998169
PMCPMC7557328

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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.