UNCG-Cone Health Research Symposium

The Agony and the Ecstasy in Using EHR Data in Research: An Academic -Practice Research Exemplar

September 17, 2021, 12noon-1pm

Deborah Lekan, PhD, RN, GERO-BC, Principal Investigator, UNCG School of Nursing

Somya Mohanty, PhD, UNCG Department of Computer Science

Marjorie Jenkins, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, Cone Health

Thomas McCoy, PhD, PStat, UNCG School of Nursing

Prashanti Manda, PhD, UNCG Informatics and Analytics

DESCRIPTION:

The adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems across U.S. hospitals has steadily increased and sparked interest in this resource for quality improvement and research. Risk prediction models are currently used by health systems/healthcare providers to stratify patients for clinical care, specialized programs and services, and discharge planning. Historically, patient administrative and claims data have been used in risk prediction models; however, drawbacks of these models include poor precision and accuracy. There is growing interest in using clinical data from the EHR in these models to quantify patient risk. Identification of patients at high risk for adverse outcomes may facilitate tailored care and time critical interventions to prevent such outcomes. In this presentation, we discuss the opportunities and challenges using EHR data in research and present the findings of a study that examined risk prediction models applying classical statistical approaches and state-of-the-art machine learning models towards prediction of in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission. The research is based on a novel approach using a Frailty Risk Score derived from EHR data using combinations of ICD-10 codes, nursing flowsheets, and laboratory tests in models with covariates such as age, comorbidity, and high-risk medications in a sample of over 70K hospitalized adults 50 years and older in a health system. We also discuss lessons learned in setting up a health care research environment, accessing and analyzing EHR data, and pitfalls in healthcare informatics.

Please register to attend.

Zoom link: https://uncg.zoom.us/j/94066614949