Improving Provider Compliance With Adult Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Care Guidelines In The Ambulatory Setting Through The Use Of Electronic Health Records

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have the ability to improve the quality of patient care, patient safety and provide benefits to providers and clinic practices. These systems can transform quality measurement and quality improvement methods, facilitate workflow, and track patients over time to ensure that they receive guideline-recommended, and evidence-based, care. Simply having an EHR system, however, may not be enough to improve the quality and safety of healthcare, especially if the system is not designed to include features specific to the treatment population. In terms of the complex care necessary to treat adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), using well-designed, evidence-based clinical decision tools or checklists within the workflow of the EHR system can improve provider compliance with IBD clinical practice guidelines. This initiative will result in adherence to population-based quality measures and will improve quality of care. A comprehensive literature review of the evidence on EHR and the implementation of clinical guidelines was conducted. Critical content to include in the IBD checklist for EHR integration is also recommended