Patient and caregiver perceptions of electronic health records interoperability in the NHS and its impact on care quality: a focus group study.

Background: The proliferation of electronic health records (EHR) in health systems of many high-income countries has ushered in profound changes to how clinical information is used, stored, and disseminated. For patients, being able to easily access and share their health information electronically through interoperable EHRs can often impact safety and their experience when seeking care across healthcare providers. While extensive research exists examining how EHRs affected workflow and technical challenges such as limited interoperability, much of it was done from the viewpoint of healthcare staff rather than from patients themselves.

Adoption of C-reactive protein rapid tests for the management of acute childhood infections in hospitals in the Netherlands and England: a comparative health systems analysis.

Background: The adoption of C-reactive protein point-of-care tests (CRP POCTs) in hospitals varies across Europe. We aimed to understand the factors that contribute to different levels of adoption of CRP POCTs for the management of acute childhood infections in two countries.

Methods: Comparative qualitative analysis of the implementation of CRP POCTs in the Netherlands and England.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis of the Use of Digital Health Technologies in Primary Health Care in the Sub-Saharan African Region: Qualitative Study.

Background: Digital health technologies (DHTs) have become increasingly commonplace as a means of delivering primary care. While DHTs have been postulated to reduce inequalities, increase access, and strengthen health systems, how the implementation of DHTs has been realized in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) health care environment remains inadequately explored.

Objective: This study aims to capture the multidisciplinary experiences of primary care professionals using DHTs to explore the strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats, regarding the implementation and use of DHTs in SSA primary care settings.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of Smart Triage, a data-driven pediatric sepsis triage platform in Eastern Uganda.

Background: Sepsis, characterized by organ dysfunction due to presumed or proven infection, has a case-fatality over 20% in severe cases in low-and-middle income countries. Early diagnosis and treatment have proven benefits, prompting our implementation of Smart Triage at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda, a program that expedites treatment through a data-driven triage platform. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of Smart Triage to explore its impact on patients and inform multicenter scale up.

The Impact of Virtual Consultations on the Quality of Primary Care: Systematic Review.

Background: The adoption of virtual consultations, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has transformed the delivery of primary care services. Owing to their rapid global proliferation, there is a need to comprehensively evaluate the impact of virtual consultations on all aspects of care quality.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of virtual consultations on the quality of primary care.

Perceptions of chief clinical information officers on the state of electronic health records systems interoperability in NHS England: a qualitative interview study.

Background: In the era of electronic health records (EHR), the ability to share clinical data is a key facilitator of healthcare delivery. Since the introduction of EHRs, this aspect has been extensively studied from the perspective of healthcare providers. Less often explored are the day-to-day challenges surrounding the procurement, deployment, maintenance, and use of interoperable EHR systems, from the perspective of healthcare administrators, such as chief clinical information officers (CCIOs).

General practitioners' perceptions of using virtual primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international cross-sectional survey study.

With the onset of COVID-19, general practitioners (GPs) and patients worldwide swiftly transitioned from face-to-face to digital remote consultations. There is a need to evaluate how this global shift has impacted patient care, healthcare providers, patient and carer experience, and health systems. We explored GPs' perspectives on the main benefits and challenges of using digital virtual care.

Digital maturity and its determinants in General Practice: A cross-sectional study in 20 countries.

Background: The extent to which digital technologies are employed to promote the delivery of high-quality healthcare is known as Digital Maturity. Individual and systemic digital maturity are both necessary to ensure a successful, scalable and sustainable digital transformation in healthcare. However, digital maturity in primary care has been scarcely evaluated.

Smart triage: Development of a rapid pediatric triage algorithm for use in low-and-middle income countries.

Introduction: Early and accurate recognition of children at risk of progressing to critical illness could contribute to improved patient outcomes and resource allocation. In resource limited settings digital triage tools can support decision making and improve healthcare delivery. We developed a model for rapid identification of critically ill children at triage.

The Impact of Electronic Health Record Interoperability on Safety and Quality of Care in High-Income Countries: Systematic Review.

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) and poor system interoperability are well-known issues in the use of health information technologies in most high-income countries worldwide. Despite the abundance of literature exploring their relationship, their practical implications on patient safety and quality of care remain unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to examine how EHR interoperability affects patient safety, or other dimensions of care quality, in high-income health care settings.

Cost-effectiveness analysis protocol of the Smart Triage program: A point-of-care digital triage platform for pediatric sepsis in Eastern Uganda.

Background: Sepsis is a clinical syndrome characterized by organ dysfunction due to presumed or proven infection. Severe cases can have case fatality ratio 25% or higher in low-middle income countries, but early diagnosis and timely treatment have a proven benefit. The Smart Triage program in Jinja Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda will provide expedited sepsis treatment in children through a data-driven electronic patient triage system.

Virtual primary care in high-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: Policy responses and lessons for the future.

Background: Telemedicine, once defined merely as the treatment of certain conditions remotely, has now often been supplanted in use by broader terms such as 'virtual care', in recognition of its increasing capability to deliver a diverse range of healthcare services from afar. With the unexpected onset of COVID-19, virtual care (e.g.

Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Adoption of Virtual Care in General Practice in 20 Countries (inSIGHT): Protocol and Rationale Study.

Background: In recent decades, virtual care has emerged as a promising option to support primary care delivery. However, despite the potential, adoption rates remained low. With the outbreak of COVID-19, it has suddenly been pushed to the forefront of care delivery.

Electronic Health Records, Interoperability and Patient Safety in Health Systems of High-income Countries: A Systematic Review Protocol.

Introduction: The availability and routine use of electronic health records (EHRs) have become commonplace in healthcare systems of many high-income countries. While there is an ever-growing body of literature pertaining to their use, evidence surrounding the importance of EHR interoperability and its impact on patient safety remains less clear. There is, therefore, a need and opportunity to evaluate the evidence available regarding this relationship so as to better inform health informatics development and policies in the years to come.

Common data elements for predictors of pediatric sepsis: A framework to standardize data collection.

Background: Standardized collection of predictors of pediatric sepsis has enormous potential to increase data compatibility across research studies. The Pediatric Sepsis Predictor Standardization Working Group collaborated to define common data elements for pediatric sepsis predictors at the point of triage to serve as a standardized framework for data collection in resource-limited settings.

Methods: A preliminary list of pediatric sepsis predictor variables was compiled through a systematic literature review and examination of global guideline documents.

Role of point-of-care tests in the management of febrile children: a qualitative study of hospital-based doctors and nurses in England.

Objectives: The use of rapid point-of-care tests (POCTs) has been advocated for improving patient management and outcomes and for optimising antibiotic prescribing. However, few studies have explored healthcare workers' views about their use in febrile children. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of hospital-based doctors and nurses regarding the use of POCTs in England.

Evaluation of the quality of 'do not use' medication abbreviation audits: a key enabler to successful implementation of audit and feedback.

Background Hospital pharmacy audit and feedback of 'do not use' medication abbreviations improves patient safety. For audit and feedback systems to be effective, the data captured must be of high quality such that end-users trust the information to guide practice change. The quality of data captured during monthly standardized pharmacy 'do not use' abbreviation audits is currently unknown.

Smart triage: triage and management of sepsis in children using the point-of-care Pediatric Rapid Sepsis Trigger (PRST) tool.

Background: Sepsis is the leading cause of death and disability in children. Every hour of delay in treatment is associated with an escalating risk of morbidity and mortality. The burden of sepsis is greatest in low- and middle-income countries where timely treatment may not occur due to delays in diagnosis and prioritization of critically ill children.

Blood pressure lowering efficacy of coenzyme Q10 for primary hypertension.

Background: Blood pressure is a commonly measured risk factor for non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular adverse events such as heart attacks and strokes. Clinical trials have suggested that coenzyme Q10, a non-prescription nutritional supplement, can effectively lower blood pressure (BP). When this review was completed and published in October 2009, it concluded that "due to the possible unreliability of the 3 included studies, it is uncertain whether or not coenzyme Q10 reduces blood pressure in the long-term management of primary hypertension.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors versus angiotensin receptor blockers for primary hypertension.

Background: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are widely prescribed for primary hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg). However, while ACE inhibitors have been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity in placebo-controlled trials, ARBs have not. Therefore, a comparison of the efficacies of these two drug classes in primary hypertension for preventing total mortality and cardiovascular events is important.