TIPA considers health IT, and particularly technologies that bridge entities such as inpatient and outpatient clinics or primary and specialty practices, as an important component to the overall practice transformation necessary to revolutionize health care. Since health IT is a major building block for exploration and frequently happens outside a framework of overall transformation, we treat it as an independent area for research.
TIPA has a rich history in evaluating the benefits of the use of health IT. Our capabilities in this area include participant recruitment, management of primary data collection, chart review and compilation of data for external review. Published research from TIPA includes comparison of prescription error rates between paper and eprescribing using a stand-alone product and longitudinal analysis of the impact of electronic lab results viewing on ambulatory care quality; both studies were funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
We are also pursuing a longitudinal analysis of prescription error rates with extended eprescribing use, as well as a comparison of electronic reporting accuracy to benchmark chart review in an effort to evaluate clinical quality (funded by AHRQ). Other research is examining preventive indicator reporting across diverse electronic health record vendors in an effort to improve the use of EHR-based reporting tools, as well as improved rates of preventive measures. This study is supported by funds from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and IPRO.
