Published on
When it comes to chlamydia screenings, EMR alerts can lead to increased screening rates among young women, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Across 16 primary care practices, chlamydia testing was ordered among women aged 18–24 years in just 3.8% (135 of 3,586) of eligible encounters in control sites compared with 13.2% (497 of 3,770) of eligible encounters in the intervention sites when EMR alerts were directed to medical assistants during patient rooming. However, when EMR alerts were used in obstetrics-gynecology practices, chlamydia tests were ordered in 44.4% (2,599 of 5,857) encounters in the intervention group compared with 57.6% (2,775 of 4,815) encounters in the control group—a higher rate of testing. The authors state that while intervention did not demonstrate improved testing rates in obstetrics-gynecology practices, baseline testing rates were already higher than in primary care.
Room for improvement: The overall chlamydia screening rate in the primary care intervention group (13.2%) “seems suboptimal,” according to the authors. Find out where urgent care can increase testing rates for sexually transmitted infections in this deep data dive from the JUCM archive: Missed Opportunities in STI Test Bundling