Electronic Triggers Help Identify Missed Diagnoses in Pediatric Emergency Departments

Electronic “triggers” applied to electronic health records can help detect missed opportunities for improving diagnosis (MOIDs) in pediatric emergency departments (EDs), according to an AHRQ-funded study in Academic Emergency Medicine. Researchers analyzed records from five pediatric EDs using three triggers—return visits within 10 days resulting in admission, care escalation within 24 hours, and death within 24 hours of an ED visit. Of 2,937 records flagged, detailed review of 5 percent revealed that 50 percent involved a MOID, and 54 percent of those cases led to patient harm. The most commonly missed conditions were brain lesions, infections, pneumonia, and appendicitis. Per study conclusion, electronic triggers can serve as a patient safety tool to monitor and improve diagnostic safety. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39815759/