Bridging the integration gap between patient-generated blood glucose data and electronic health records.

Telemedicine can facilitate population health management by extending the reach of providers to efficiently care for high-risk, high-utilization populations. However, for telemedicine to be maximally useful, data collected using telemedicine technologies must be reliable and readily available to healthcare providers. To address current gaps in integration of patient-generated health data into the electronic health record (EHR), we examined 2 patient-facing platforms, Epic MyChart and Apple HealthKit, both of which facilitated the uploading of blood glucose data into the EHR as part of a diabetes telemedicine intervention.

Assessing electronic health record phenotypes against gold-standard diagnostic criteria for diabetes mellitus.

Objective: We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of 8 electronic health record (EHR)-based phenotypes for diabetes mellitus against gold-standard American Diabetes Association (ADA) diagnostic criteria via chart review by clinical experts.

Materials And Methods: We identified EHR-based diabetes phenotype definitions that were developed for various purposes by a variety of users, including academic medical centers, Medicare, the New York City Health Department, and pharmacy benefit managers. We applied these definitions to a sample of 173 503 patients with records in the Duke Health System Enterprise Data Warehouse and at least 1 visit over a 5-year period (2007-2011).

Potential mechanisms for reduced delivery of nitric oxide to peripheral tissues in diabetes mellitus.

Nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is crucial for normal vascular endothelial function and health. Recent studies have demonstrated an endocrine role for NO equivalents that may be transported in the blood to peripheral tissue beds, where under hypoxic conditions they can liberate NO and cause vasodilation. Exercise training improves endothelial function but its effect on NO bioavailability in peripheral tissues during acute exercise stress in CVD is unclear.

Effectiveness and tolerability of adding ezetimibe to niacin-based regimens for treatment of primary hyperlipidemia.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness and tolerability of adding ezetimibe, 10 mg daily, to niacin-based regimens for dyslipidemia.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of 53 patients in 2 lipid clinics who received ezetimibe as add-on therapy to stable doses of niacin and other lipid medications. Mean percentage changes of lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels were determined.