Supporting Asthma and COPD Best Practices in Ontario through Primary Care Electronic Medical Records.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two of the most common chronic respiratory diseases. Electronic medical records (EMRs) are increasingly being used as a means to support chronic disease management and enable best practices. This article summarizes the state of asthma and COPD care and electronic solutions in Ontario, highlighting the work done to date for asthma and COPD data standards.

Use of SNOMED CT® and LOINC® to standardize terminology for primary care asthma electronic health records.

Objectives: The burden of asthma ranks among the highest for chronic diseases. Interoperable electronic health records (EHRs) can improve the management of chronic diseases such as asthma by facilitating sharing of data between health care settings along the continuum of care. Terminology such as SNOMED CT® (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms) and LOINC® (Logistical Observation Identifier Names and Codes) are prerequisites for interoperability of EHRs.

Assessing the burden of childhood asthma: validation of electronic versions of the Mini Pediatric and Pediatric Asthma Caregiver's Quality of Life Questionnaires.

Purpose: To validate electronic versions of the Mini Pediatric and Pediatric Asthma Caregiver's Quality of Life Questionnaires (MiniPAQLQ and PACQLQ, respectively), determine completion times and correlate QOL of children and caregivers.

Methods: A total of 63 children and 64 caregivers completed the paper and electronic MiniPAQLQ or PACQLQ. Agreement between versions of each questionnaire was summarized by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).

The development and test re-test reliability of a work-related asthma screening questionnaire.

Objective: Work-related asthma (WRA) is under-recognized and delays in recognition contribute to long-term morbidity. The objective of the project was to develop a WRA screening questionnaire for use by primary care providers in the assessment of individuals with asthma, and to evaluate the respondent burden, test re-test reliability and face validity of the questionnaire.

Methods: A literature search was undertaken and an expert advisory committee was convened.

Development and implementation of an electronic asthma record for primary care: integrating guidelines into practice.

Rationale: Evidence-based practice may be enhanced by integrating knowledge translation tools into electronic medical records (EMRs). We examined the feasibility of incorporating an evidence-based asthma care map (ACM) into Primary Care (PC) EMRs, and reporting on performance indicators.

Methods: Clinicians and information technology experts selected 69 clinical and administrative variables from the ACM template.

Pan-Canadian REspiratory STandards INitiative for Electronic Health Records (PRESTINE): 2011 national forum proceedings.

In a novel knowledge translation initiative, the Government of Ontario's Asthma Plan of Action funded the development of an Asthma Care Map to enable adherence with the Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines developed under the auspices of the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS). Following its successful evaluation within the Primary Care Asthma Pilot Project, respiratory clinicians from the Asthma Research Unit, Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) are leading an initiative to incorporate standardized Asthma Care Map data elements into electronic health records in primary care in Ontario. Acknowledging that the issue of data standards affects all respiratory conditions, and all provinces and territories, the Government of Ontario approached the CTS Respiratory Guidelines Committee.

Comparison of asthma control criteria: importance of spirometry.

Aims: To compare the measurements of asthma control using Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) Asthma Management Consensus Summary and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines composite indices with and without spirometry.

Methods: Asthma control parameters were extracted from electronic medical records (EMRs) of patients ≥6 years old at two primary care sites. Asthma control ratings calculated according to CTS and GINA criteria were compared.

Asthma electronic medical records in primary care: an integrative review.

Background: Quality management, evaluation, and surveillance of asthma may be enhanced by access to and utilization of an asthma electronic medical record (EMR) in primary care.

Purpose: To describe the current status, support tools, and utility of asthma EMRs in primary care.

Methods: An integrative review of the literature published between 1996 and 2008 was completed using Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases.

Emergency department adult asthma care pathway: healthcare providers' perceived utility and barriers to implementation.

Clinical pathways provide an outline for evidence-based care and can reduce variation of care across many healthcare settings including the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to examine healthcare providers' perceptions of an ED Asthma Care Pathway (EDACP) and identify barriers to implementation. Following a 6-month pilot implementation of the EDACP, healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and administrators) at 5 Ontario EDs were surveyed about the content, format, and usefulness of the pathway, as well as barriers to implementation.

The sleep experience of medical and surgical patients.

This study described and compared the sleep experience of medical and surgical patients during a hospital stay. During 3 consecutive nights, patients (n = 110) self-reported sleep quality using the Verran and Snyder Sleep Scale (VSH) and potentially disruptive factors using items from the Factors Influencing Sleep Questionnaire (FISQ). Surgical patients, on the first night, received more procedural care (p = .