Session Information
Date: Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Title: Measures and Measurement of Healthcare Quality Poster II
Session Type: ACR Poster Session C
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: As part of passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Meaningful Use Core Measures were outlined to improve electronic medical record (EMR) systems. One of these such measures is enabling patients to electronically view laboratory results. Allowing patients to view and track their labs can improve patient engagement in their medical care. However whether increased electronic patient engagement results in better clinical outcomes is not yet known. We reviewed whether viewing labs amongst rheumatoid arthritis patients resulted in improvement in laboratory results over an 18 month period.
Methods: Data was obtained from a retrospective chart review of rheumatoid patients seen at the Ohio State University Rheumatology Clinics. The cohort included patients who had an ICD-9 or ICD-10 diagnosis consistent with rheumatoid arthritis. The most recent sedimentation rate (ESR) and an ESR 18 months prior were recorded as the two outcome measures. Patients were divided into a group who had viewed their labs online and a group that did not, which could be determined from our EMR tracking system. The difference between the ESR over the 18 months was calculated and a one tailed t test was done between the 2 groups.
Results: 173 patients were included in the study with 111 of the patients not viewing their labs online (Non-viewers) and 62 having viewed the labs online (viewers). 138 of the patients were female (79.8%), with a mean age of 56.6 ±12.4 years. Baseline ESR were similar between both groups. At 18 months there was a statistically significant difference (p=0.039) in the ESR of 31.68 ±27.12 mm/hour in Non-viewers compared to 23.87 ±19.61 mm/hour in Viewers. However the degree of change in the ESR over the 2 data points was not statistically significant (p=0.29). The change in ESR over 18 months in the Non-viewers was -6.16 ±22.42 mm/hour compared to -8.16 ±23.93 mm/hour in Viewers.
Conclusion: To our knowledge this is the first study evaluating whether patient viewing of labs online results in a change in laboratory results overtime in rheumatoid arthritis patients. After 18 months the ESR did improve in both populations, however the degree of change in ESR over the course of 18 months in those who viewed labs online and those who did not was not statistically significant.
Table 1. Patient Demographics
|
Non-Viewers |
Viewers |
|
|
Total |
111 |
62 |
|
Age (years) |
57.22 (±12.68) |
55.5 (±11.83) |
|
Female (%) |
81.08% |
77.40% |
|
Race (n) |
||
|
White |
59 |
52 |
|
African American |
39 |
6 |
|
Hispanic |
5 |
0 |
|
Mexican |
1 |
1 |
|
Asian |
0 |
1 |
|
Middle Eastern |
2 |
0 |
|
Asian-Indian |
1 |
0 |
|
Laotian |
1 |
0 |
|
Bengali |
1 |
0 |
|
Somali |
1 |
0 |
|
Other |
1 |
2 |
Table 2. Sedimentation Rate (ESR) For Non-viewers and Viewers
|
Non-Viewers |
Viewers |
||
|
ESR at start |
37.98 (±31.46) |
34.48 (±24.03) |
p=0.25 |
|
ESR at 18 months |
31.68 (±27.12) |
23.87 (±19.61) |
p=0.039 |
|
Change in ESR at 18 months |
-6.16(±22.42) |
-8.16 (±23.93) |
p=0.29 |
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Mascarenhas S, Roy S, Pinto A, Gupta P. Online Viewing of Labs in RA Patients Is Not Associated with Clinically Significant Change in ESR over 18 Months Compared to Non-Viewers [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/online-viewing-of-labs-in-ra-patients-is-not-associated-with-clinically-significant-change-in-esr-over-18-months-compared-to-non-viewers/. Accessed .ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/online-viewing-of-labs-in-ra-patients-is-not-associated-with-clinically-significant-change-in-esr-over-18-months-compared-to-non-viewers/