About

The University of Utah Department of Biomedical Informatics and its partners have over 50 years of history exploring the underlying science of designing and implementing clinical decision support solutions that provide cognitive support for clinicians at the point of care across several health delivery systems.

Problem

Despite heavy investments, electronic health records (EHRs) often frustrate users and are unable to ensure that patients receive the right care. Physicians spend much more time on the EHR than they do providing direct patient care [1][2], with thousands of clicks required to get through a clinical shift.[3]  EHR usability is often rated as being "unacceptable" by physicians,[4][5] and low EHR usability is a primary cause of physician burnout.[6][7]  Despite rapid EHR adoption catalyzed by tens of billions of dollars of government investment, EHR adoption has not led to hoped-for improvements in outpatient care quality.[8][9]

Our Approach

We are leveraging the evolution of EHRs into platforms for third-party innovations. Just as smartphones can be enhanced by various apps downloaded from app stores, EHRs can now be enhanced by various digital health innovations that can be interfaced with the EHR using interoperability frameworks such as the Health Level Seven International (HL7) FHIR, SMART, and CDS Hooks standards. We provide cognitive support to clinicians and patients by intelligently integrating relevant information, providing personalized guidance, and facilitating the completion of needed tasks such as ordering interventions and documenting the care provided. In short, we seek to make it easy for every patient to receive the right care, every time.