Purely educating doctors about the importance of prescribing certain therapies may not be enough to make a meaningful impact, according to a new Penn Medicine study. Using acid suppression therapy—an effective method of reducing the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in vulnerable cardiac patients—Penn researchers tested interventions that utilized both education and an electronic "dashboard" system linked to patients' electronic medical records (EMRs) which gave doctors up-to-date information on which patients would likely benefit from the therapy. Researchers found that the education on acid suppression therapy alone did not have a noticeable effect on prescribing rates, but adding use of the dashboard resulted in an 18 percent increase in needed medication orders. The study was published this month in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.
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