Electronic Surveillance Program Targets Care Gaps in Outpatient Settings

Innovative approach addresses issues such as conflicting medications or the need for follow-up tests and may be adapted by other organizations

An innovative framework for identifying and addressing potential gaps in health care in outpatient settings using electronic clinical surveillance tools has been used to target patient safety across a variety of conditions, according to a study published today in the journal eGEMs.

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Outpatient Safety Net Program leverages the power of electronic health records as well as a proactive clinical culture to scan for potential quality improvement opportunities and intervene to improve patient care.

The study presents the overall framework of OSNP, which has been used to address a wide range of safety issues across diverse clinical conditions. The OSNP targets care gaps such as use of conflicting medications that could lead to drug interactions or the need for follow-up tests. This is in contrast to the majority of patient safety programs, which focus on emergency or inpatient care.

“More than 98 percent of interactions with patients occur in outpatient settings, and the Outpatient Safety Net Program leverages the power of electronic health records to target care gaps by scanning for things like medication interactions or needed follow-up tests,” said study author Michael H. Kanter, MD, regional medical director of Quality and Clinical Analysis, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “For instance, a patient who is on one or more medications that require annual monitoring who has not come in to get his or her blood drawn for the necessary test will be flagged by our electronic clinical surveillance tool, and we will remind the patient to come in and have his or her lab work done.”

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