The importance of screening patients for underlying chronic infections before initiating immunosuppressive medications is well known, yet clinician adherence to screening guidelines varies widely. In a new study, researchers developed an automated computerized decision-making support system in the form of a best practice advisory (BPA) and evaluated the impact of this new tool on pre-treatment screening.
The findings were published in Arthritis Care & Research.
The study examined 711 patients treated over three years before implementation of the BPA and 257 patients treated over two years post-BPA implementation at outpatient rheumatology practices at the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHH). Researchers found that the BPA implementation was associated with a 66% to 82% increase in screening for tuberculosis, a 60% to 79% increase in screening for hepatitis C, and a 51% to 70% increase in screening for hepatitis B.
