The Building Blocks of Interoperability. A Multisite Analysis of Patient Demographic Attributes Available for Matching.

BackgroundPatient matching is a key barrier to achieving interoperability. Patient demographic elements must be consistently collected over time and region to be valuable elements for patient matching.ObjectivesWe sought to determine what patient demographic attributes are collected at multiple institutions in the United States and see how their availability changes over time and across clinical sites.MethodsWe compiled a list of 36 demographic elements that stakeholders previously identified as essential patient demographic attributes that should be collected for the purpose of linking patient records. We studied a convenience sample of 9 health care systems from geographically distinct sites around the country. We identified changes in the availability of individual patient demographic attributes over time and across clinical sites.ResultsSeveral attributes were consistently available over the study period (2005-2014) including last name (99.96%), first name (99.95%), date of birth (98.82%), gender/sex (99.73%), postal code (94.71%), and full street address (94.65%). Other attributes changed significantly from 2005-2014: Social security number (SSN) availability declined from 83.3% to 50.44% (p<0.0001). Email address availability increased from 8.94% up to 54% availability (p<0.0001). Work phone number increased from 20.61% to 52.33% (p<0.0001).ConclusionsOverall, first name, last name, date of birth, gender/sex and address were widely collected across institutional sites and over time. Availability of emerging attributes such as email and phone numbers are increasing while SSN use is declining. Understanding the relative availability of patient attributes can inform strategies for optimal matching in healthcare

The Building Blocks of Interoperability. A Multisite Analysis of Patient Demographic Attributes Available for Matching.

BackgroundPatient matching is a key barrier to achieving interoperability. Patient demographic elements must be consistently collected over time and region to be valuable elements for patient matching.ObjectivesWe sought to determine what patient demographic attributes are collected at multiple institutions in the United States and see how their availability changes over time and across clinical sites.MethodsWe compiled a list of 36 demographic elements that stakeholders previously identified as essential patient demographic attributes that should be collected for the purpose of linking patient records. We studied a convenience sample of 9 health care systems from geographically distinct sites around the country. We identified changes in the availability of individual patient demographic attributes over time and across clinical sites.ResultsSeveral attributes were consistently available over the study period (2005-2014) including last name (99.96%), first name (99.95%), date of birth (98.82%), gender/sex (99.73%), postal code (94.71%), and full street address (94.65%). Other attributes changed significantly from 2005-2014: Social security number (SSN) availability declined from 83.3% to 50.44% (p<0.0001). Email address availability increased from 8.94% up to 54% availability (p<0.0001). Work phone number increased from 20.61% to 52.33% (p<0.0001).ConclusionsOverall, first name, last name, date of birth, gender/sex and address were widely collected across institutional sites and over time. Availability of emerging attributes such as email and phone numbers are increasing while SSN use is declining. Understanding the relative availability of patient attributes can inform strategies for optimal matching in healthcare

Development of the Perinatal Depression Inventory (PDI)-14 using item response theory: a comparison of the BDI-II, EPDS, PDI, and PHQ-9

The objective of this study is to develop a simple, brief, self-report perinatal depression inventory that accurately measures severity in a number of populations. Our team developed 159 Likert-scale perinatal depression items using simple sentences with a fifth-grade reading level. Based on iterative cognitive interviewing (CI), an expert panel improved and winnowed the item pool based on pre-determined criteria. The resulting 67 items were administered to a sample of 628 pregnant and 251 postpartum women with different levels of depression at private and public sector obstetrics clinics, together with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), as well as Module A of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Diagnoses (SCID). Responses were evaluated using Item Response Theory (IRT). The Perinatal Depression Inventory (PDI)-14 items are highly informative regarding depression severity and function similarly and informatively across pregnant/postpartum, white/non-white, and private-clinic/public-clinic populations. PDI-14 scores correlate well with the PHQ-9, EPDS, and BDI-II, but the PDI-14 provides a more precise measure of severity using far fewer words. The PDI-14 is a brief depression assessment that excels at accurately measuring depression severity across a wide range of severity and perinatal populations. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00737-015-0553-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Combining peer instruction and audience response systems to enhance academic performance, facilitate active learning and promote peer-assisted learning communities

Current research shows that peer-assisted learning can enhance students\u27 motivation, academic self-concept, academic performance and retention. Building on constructivist theory, this study investigates the use of audience response systems, or clickers, and peer instruction (PI) to engage students in class, to increase the students\u27 engagement and sense of community, both in and out of the classroom, and to increase the students\u27 academic performance. This article presents the results of a quasi-experimental study comparing the outcomes achieved by two equivalent student groups taking the same Textiles class by the same instructor in two adjacent semesters. While the control class utilised only audience response systems, the experimental class utilised clickers in combination with PI. The experimental group performed significantly better on examinations and final averages, while the control group performed significantly better on class projects. No significant difference was found between the quiz scores of the two groups. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

Degendering Work Time in Comparative Perspective: Alternative Policy Frameworks

Policy initiatives providing for alternative working time arrangements as well as a shortened standard work week have become prevalent in recent years, especially among the highly industrialized countries of northern Europe. We find that despite institutional differences, Germany, France, and Sweden have adopted policies that explicitly or implicitly contribute to the gendering of work time. Increasingly, what differentiates gender roles is not whetherindividuals have a job, but the amount of timespent in paid employment. The expansion of overtime for men and part-time jobs for women reinforces the skewed division of domestic labor and occupational segregation. European unions are acquiescing to work reorganization policies that promote the expansion of both part-time and overtime as long as these policies are coupled with measures facilitating work redistribution to save jobs. Broader visions of work reduction as a means to gender equity have been shunted to the background.work time, European Union, women's employment, part-time work, flexibility, labor market policy,