Dataset Information

Association of an Electronic Health Record-Linked Glaucoma Medical Reminder With Patient Satisfaction.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

While dosing reminders for glaucoma medications have been shown to increase drug adherence, an outstanding limitation preventing broad adoption is difficulty linking reminders to medication in each patient's electronic health record (EHR).

Objective

To examine the feasibility of implementing an EHR-linked, automated reminder system for glaucoma medications and assess patient satisfaction with it.

Design, setting, and participants

In this prospective, cross-sectional study, patients receiving glaucoma medications were recruited from a university-based glaucoma clinic from April 2017 to January 2018. Analysis began in February 2018.

Exposures

A web-based application was added to the EHR patient portal, allowing patients to configure telecommunication-based reminders for their glaucoma medications. For all potential participants, basic information was collected to determine risk of nonadherence with glaucoma medications. Those consenting to participate then answered questions on medication adherence, reminders, and their likelihood of using EHR-linked reminders. They then configured reminders using the EHR patient portal. After 3 months, they answered questions about their satisfaction with the system.

Main outcomes and measures

Proportions of patients and high-risk patients willing to use the reminders, and patient satisfaction with the system.

Results

Of 147 patients approached, 100 (68%) agreed to participate, of whom the majority were men (54 [54%]) and white (51 [51%]), with a mean (SD) age of 65 (12.4) years. There were no differences between those willing and unwilling to participate, except for a slightly lower self-reported medication adherence rate among those who participated (mean [SD], 91% [13.6%] vs 97% [6.0%]). Based on a previously validated risk assessment score, 9% (9 of 100) of participants were categorized as being at high risk for poor adherence (≥50% probability of nonadherence) compared with 11% (5 of 47) of nonparticipants. Of 100 participants, 94 ultimately configured reminders, of whom 89 (95%) completed follow-up. On follow-up, 74% (n = 66; 95% CI, 65-83) of participants found the reminders to be useful, 15% (n = 13) were neutral, and 11% (n = 10) found them not useful. Most participants (72 [81%]; 95% CI, 77-85) had help configuring reminders.

Conclusions and relevance

Electronic health records-linked reminders had good uptake and were well received among patients at a tertiary glaucoma clinic. These portals may represent a new and convenient method of allowing patients to link their glaucoma medications to automated reminders, although the generalizability of these results and the effect on glaucoma outcomes remains unknown.

SUBMITTER: Varadaraj V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6439714 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Objective To ascertain long term cardiovascular outcomes in patients whose chest pain remained undiagnosed six months after first presentation.Design Cohort study.Setting UK electronic health record database (CALIBER) linking primary care, secondary care, coronary registry, and death registry information.Participants 172 180 adults aged ≥18 from 223 general practices presenting with a first episode of recorded chest pain, classified from medical records as diagnosed (non-coronary condition or angina) or undiagnosed (cause unattributed) at first consultation between 2002 and 2009 and with no previous record of cardiovascular disease.Main outcome measures Fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events over 5.5 years' follow-up. Adjustments were made for age, sex, deprivation, body mass index, smoking status, year of index presentation, and previous records of diabetes or hypertension or previous prescriptions for lipid lowering drugs.Results At the index presentation, 72.4% of patients (124 688) did not have a cause attributed for their chest pain; 118 687 (95.2%) of these did not receive any type of cardiovascular diagnosis over the next six months. Only a minority of patients in all three groups (non-coronary 2.0% (769 of 39 232); unattributed 11.7% (14 582 of 124 688); angina 31.5% (2606 of 8260)) had a recorded cardiac diagnostic investigation in the first six months after presentation. The long term incidence of cardiovascular events was higher in those whose chest pain remained unattributed after six months (5126 of 109 628; 4.7%) compared with patients with an initial diagnosis of non-coronary pain (1073 of 36 097; 3.0%) (adjusted hazard ratios for 0.5-1 year after presentation: 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.66 to 2.31; for 1-3 years: 1.35, 1.23 to 1.48); for 3-5.5 years: 1.21, 1.08 to 1.37). Owing to the larger number of patients in the unattributed group, there were more excess myocardial infarctions in the long term in this group (214 more than expected based on the rate in the non-coronary group) than in the angina group (132 more than expected). Patients who had cardiac diagnostic investigations in the first six months had a higher long term risk of cardiovascular events, regardless of the initial chest pain label. Incidence of unattributed chest pain and angina decreased between 2002 (124 per 10 000 person years and 13 per 10 000 person years, respectively) and 2009 (107 per 10 000 person years and 5 per 10 000 person years, respectively), but the incidence of chest pain attributed to a non-coronary cause remained stable (37-40 per 10 000 person years). Risk of cardiovascular events did not change over time.Conclusions Most patients with first onset chest pain do not have a diagnosis recorded at presentation or in the subsequent six months, including those who undergo cardiac investigations. These patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular events for at least five years. Efforts to better assess and reduce the cardiovascular risk of such patients are warranted.