Preventable inpatient time: adequacy of electronic patient information systems.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed hospital electronic patient information systems (EPIS) for inclusion of variables associated with avoidable and extended hospitalization (preventable inpatient time).
METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and HealthSTAR databases to identify predictors of preventable inpatient time. We then audited the admissions process and the handwritten medical record at 1 hospital, and the EPIS at all hospitals, affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine for inclusion of the predictors.
RESULTS: Whereas the written medical record included all 58 predictors, the EPIS of the 10 hospitals surveyed included an average of only 38% of the predictors.
CONCLUSIONS: The conventional approach to information gathering during hospital admission is highly inefficient. Revising EPIS to include predictors of preventable inpatient time could enhance efficiency and quality, while reducing costs, of hospital care.