Diagnostic Process Technology and Tools
ANSWER
The diagnostic process involves many technologies and tools, but the chapter focuses on health information technology (health IT) tools. Electronic health records (EHRs), clinical decision support, patient engagement tools, computerized provider order entry, laboratory and medical imaging information systems, health information exchanges, and medical devices are all examples of health IT.
Health IT is important in many aspects of the diagnostic process, including capturing information about a patient that informs the diagnostic process, such as clinical history and interview, physical exam, and diagnostic testing results; shaping a clinician’s workflow and decision-making in the diagnostic process; and facilitating information exchange.Diagnostic Process Technology and Tools
The committee concluded that health IT has the potential to positively and negatively impact the diagnostic process. Health IT has the potential to improve diagnosis and reduce diagnostic errors when it supports diagnostic team members and tasks during the diagnostic process and adheres to human-centered design principles. Despite this potential, few demonstrations have demonstrated that health IT improves clinical diagnosis (El-Kareh et al., 2013).
Indeed, many experts are concerned that current health IT tools are not facilitating the diagnostic process effectively and may be contributing to diagnostic errors (Basch, 2014; Berenson et al., 2011; El-Kareh et al., 2013; Kuhn et al., 2015; Ober, 2015; ONC, 2014b; Verghese, 2008). This chapter discusses the design of health IT for the diagnostic process, patient health information interoperability, and patient safety issues related to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care in 2015. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/21794.Diagnostic Process Technology and Tools