AMIA Informatics 2009 Year in Review
A compendium of notable publications and events in the field of biomedical informatics, November 2008 - October 2009
by
Daniel Masys, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Dept. of Biomedical Informatics
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Presented here are the citations and events from the Year in Review session at the AMIA Symposium, Tuesday November 17, 2009 at 8:30. 

Candidate new literature in Clinical Informatics
Topic Areas
Computerized Clinical Decision Support

For Providers

Medication Management
  1. Schnipper JL et. al. Effect of an electronic medication reconciliation application and process redesign on potential adverse drug events: a cluster-randomized trial. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Apr 27;169(8):771-80.
  2. Terrell KM. Computerized decision support to reduce potentially inappropriate prescribing to older emergency department patients: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Aug;57(8):1388-94. Epub 2009 Jun 22.
  3. Smith DH et al. Improving laboratory monitoring of medications: an economic analysis alongside a clinical trial. Am J Manag Care. 2009 May;15(5):281-9.
  4. Field TS et. al. Computerized clinical decision support during medication ordering for long-term care residents with renal insufficiency.  J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):480-5. Epub 2009 Apr 23.
Smoking cessation
  1. Linder JA et. al. An electronic health record-based intervention to improve tobacco treatment in primary care: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Apr 27;169(8):781-7.
  2. Houston TK et al. Internet delivered support for tobacco control in dental practice: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2008 Nov 4;10(5):e38.
Other
  1. Schriefer SP et. al. Effect of a computerized body mass index prompt on diagnosis and treatment of adult obesity. Fam Med. 2009 Jul-Aug;41(7):502-7.
  2. Ahmad F et al. Computer-assisted screening for intimate partner violence and control: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Jul 21;151(2):93-102. Epub 2009 Jun 1.
  3. Goud R et. al. Effect of guideline based computerised decision support on decision making of multidisciplinary teams: cluster randomised trial in cardiac rehabilitation. BMJ. 2009 Apr 27;338:b1440. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b1440.
  4. Gilutz H et al. Computerized community cholesterol control (4C): meeting the challenge of secondary prevention. Isr Med Assoc J. 2009 Jan;11(1):23-9.
For Providers and Patients
  1. Holbrook A. et al. Individualized electronic decision support and reminders to improve diabetes care in the community: COMPETE II randomized trial. CMAJ. 2009 Jul 7;181(1-2):37-44.
  2. Sequist TD et al. Patient and physician reminders to promote colorectal cancer screening: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Feb 23;169(4):364-71.
For Patients
  1. Volandes AE et al. Video decision support tool for advance care planning in dementia: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2009 May 28;338:b2159. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2159.
  2. Littenberg B et. al. The Vermedx Diabetes Information System reduces healthcare utilization. Am J Manag Care. 2009 Mar;15(3):166-70.
  3. Kuppermann M et al. Computerized prenatal genetic testing decision-assisting tool: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Jan;113(1):53-63.

Studies showing no statistically significant difference with CDSS intervention vs. alternatives
  1. Piazza G. Physician alerts to prevent symptomatic venous thromboembolism in hospitalized patients. Circulation. 2009 Apr 28;119(16):2196-201. Epub 2009 Apr 13.
  2. Bosworth HB et al.  Patient education and provider decision support to control blood pressure in primary care: a cluster randomized trial. Am Heart J. 2009 Mar;157(3):450-6. Epub 2009 Jan 10.
  3. Kline JA et al. Randomized trial of computerized quantitative pretest probability in low-risk chest pain patients: effect on safety and resource use. Ann Emerg Med. 2009 Jun;53(6):727-35.e1. Epub 2009 Jan 9.
  4. Leveille SG et al. Health coaching via an internet portal for primary care patients with chronic conditions: a randomized controlled trial. Med Care. 2009 Jan;47(1):41-7.
  5. Stoddard JL et al. Effect of adding a virtual community (bulletin board) to smokefree.gov: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2008 Dec 19;10(5):e53.
  6. Gurwitz JH et al. Effect of computerized provider order entry with clinical decision support on adverse drug events in the long-term care setting. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008 Dec;56(12):2225-33.
  7. Askins MA et al. Report from a multi-institutional randomized clinical trial examining computer-assisted problem-solving skills training for English- and Spanish-speaking mothers of children with newly diagnosed cancer. J Pediatr Psychol. 2009 Jun;34(5):551-63. Epub 2008 Dec 17.
  8. Kasper J et al.  Informed shared decision making about immunotherapy for patients with multiple sclerosis (ISDIMS): a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Neurol. 2008 Dec;15(12):1345-52.
  9. Hung CS et al. Using paper chart based clinical reminders to improve guideline adherence to lipid management.  J Eval Clin Pract. 2008 Oct;14(5):861-6.
  10. Lo HG et al. Impact of non-interruptive medication laboratory monitoring alerts in ambulatory care. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jan-Feb;16(1):66-71. Epub 2008 Oct 24.

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Telemedicine

Diabetes
  1. Shea S et. al. A randomized trial comparing telemedicine case management with usual care in older, ethnically diverse, medically underserved patients with diabetes mellitus: 5 year results of the IDEATel study. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):446-56. Epub 2009 Apr 23.
  2. Trief PM et al. Improvement in diabetes self-efficacy and glycaemic control using telemedicine in a sample of older, ethnically diverse individuals who have diabetes: the IDEATel project. Age Ageing. 2009 Mar;38(2):219-25. Epub 2009 Jan 26.
  3. Istepanian RS et al. Evaluation of a mobile phone telemonitoring system for glycaemic control in patients with diabetes. J Telemed Telecare. 2009;15(3):125-8.
  4. Rodríguez-Idígoras MI. Telemedicine influence on the follow-up of type 2 diabetes patients. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2009 Jul;11(7):431-7.
Psychiatric conditions
  1. Kessler D., et. al.  Therapist-delivered Internet psychotherapy for depression in primary care: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2009 Aug 22;374(9690):628-34.
  2. Warmerdam L et al. Internet-based treatment for adults with depressive symptoms: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2008 Nov 20;10(4):e44.
Smoking cessation
  1. Brendryen H et al. A digital smoking cessation program delivered through internet and cell phone without nicotine replacement (happy ending): randomized controlled trial.  J Med Internet Res. 2008 Nov 28;10(5):e51
  2. Rabius V et al. Comparing internet assistance for smoking cessation: 13-month follow-up of a six-arm randomized controlled trial.  J Med Internet Res. 2008 Nov 21;10(5):e45.
Miscellaneous conditions
  1. Parati G et al. Home blood pressure telemonitoring improves hypertension control in general practice. The TeleBPCare study. J Hypertens. 2009 Jan;27(1):198-203.
  2. Vincent N, Lewycky S. Logging on for better sleep: RCT of the effectiveness of online treatment for insomnia. Sleep. 2009 Jun 1;32(6):807-15.
Telemedicine studies showing no statistically significant difference in health outcomes between intervention group and controls.
  1. Leveille SG et al. Health coaching via an internet portal for primary care patients with chronic conditions: a randomized controlled trial. Med Care. 2009 Jan;47(1):41-7.
  2. Carrasco MP et al. Impact of patient-general practitioner short-messages-based interaction on the control of hypertension in a follow-up service for low-to-medium risk hypertensive patients: a randomized controlled trial. IEEE Trans Inf Technol Biomed. 2008 Nov;12(6):780-91.
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Practice of Informatics

  1. Simon SR et al. Physicians' use of key functions in electronic health records from 2005 to 2007: a statewide survey. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):465-70. Epub 2009 Apr 23.
  2. Jha AK et al (Sr. author Blumenthal, D). Use of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals. N Engl J Med. 2009 Apr 16;360(16):1628-38. Epub 2009 Mar 25.
  3. Stead, W.W. & Lin, H.S. (Eds.). (2009)  Computational technology for effective health care:  immediate steps and strategic directions.  Committee on Engaging the Computer Science Research Community in Health Care Informatics.  Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council.  Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
  4. Amarasingham R et al. Clinical information technologies and inpatient outcomes: a multiple hospital study. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Jan 26;169(2):108-14.
  5. Zhou L et al.  The relationship between electronic health record use and quality of care over time.  J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):457-64.
  6. Paterno MD et al.  Tiering drug-drug interaction alerts by severity increases compliance rates.  J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Jan-Feb;16(1):40-6. Epub 2008 Oct 24.
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Candidate new literature in Bioinformatics
Topic Areas
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Human health and disease
  1. Goldstein LJ et al. Prognostic utility of the 21-gene assay in hormone receptor-positive operable breast cancer compared with classical clinicopathologic features. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Sep 1;26(25):4063-71. Epub 2008 Aug 4.
  2. Bauer F et al. Obesity genes identified in genome-wide association studies are associated with adiposity measures and potentially with nutrient-specific food preference.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Oct;90(4):951-9. Epub 2009 Aug 19
  3. Treutlein J et al.  Genome-wide association study of alcohol dependence. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Jul;66(7):773-84
  4. Fox AA et al. Natriuretic peptide system gene variants are associated with ventricular dysfunction after coronary artery bypass grafting. Anesthesiology. 2009 Apr;110(4):738-47
  5. Comabella M et al. Genome-wide scan of 500,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms among responders and nonresponders to interferon beta therapy in multiple sclerosis. Arch Neurol. 2009 Aug;66(8):972-8
  6. Mardis ER et al.  Recurring mutations found by sequencing an acute myeloid leukemia genome.  N Engl J Med. 2009 Sep 10;361(11):1058-66. Epub 2009 Aug 5
  7. Turer AT et al. Metabolomic profiling reveals distinct patterns of myocardial substrate use in humans with coronary artery disease or left ventricular dysfunction during surgical ischemia/reperfusion. Circulation. 2009 Apr 7;119(13):1736-46. Epub 2009 Mar 23.
  8. Sreekumar A et. al. Metabolomic profiles delineate potential role for sarcosine in prostate cancer progression. Nature. 2009 Feb 12;457(7231):910-4
  9. Ho J et al. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of urine in acute kidney injury following cardiopulmonary bypass: a nested case-control study.  Am J Kidney Dis. 2009 Apr;53(4):584-95. Epub 2008 Dec 13
  10. Rello J et al. Severity of pneumococcal pneumonia associated with genomic bacterial load.  Chest. 2009 Sep;136(3):832-40. Epub 2009 May 11.

Model systems for understanding biology
  1. Schacherer J et. al. Comprehensive polymorphism survey elucidates population structureof Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Nature. 2009 Mar 19;458(7236):342-5. Epub 2009 Feb 11.

The practice of bioinformatics
  1. Roach KL et al. High throughput single cell bioinformatics.. Biotechnol Prog. 2009 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Schaub MA et al. A Classifier-based approach to identify genetic similarities between diseases.  Bioinformatics. 2009 Jun 15;25(12):i21-9.

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"Top Ten" Notable Events

10. Appointment of Francis Collins as NIH Director
 9. High throughput sequencing technologies result in exponential increases in the genomic data analyzed, stored and
     distributed.
 8. AMIA Clinical Informatics sub-certificate being sponsored by American Board of Preventive Medicine to the American
     Board of Medical Specialties.
 7. Launch of PMC Canada: the trend toward broader access to research results
 6. Senate Finance Committee alleges serious computer flaws from doctors, patients and engineers unhappy with
      current systems, demanding to know what steps vendors have taken to safeguard patients. (October 16)
 5. Passage of ARRA established ONC in law and expands its responsibilities and budget
 4. Passage of ARRA brings new breach notification and expansion of HIPAA privacy/security requirements 
 3. Passage of ARRA provides extra $10 billion for NIH ($83 million to NLM)
 2. Passage of ARRA requires establishment of first set of "meaningful use" criteria for EHRs
 1. Passage of ARRA provides billions for EHR adoption
 
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Search methodology used to identify potentially high impact literature


Many thanks to Rebecca Jerome, MLS for developing and iteratively refining search profiles for both clinical and bioinformatics for publications with Entrez date Nov 2008 – Oct 2009.

Clinical informatics searching methods: 

  • Clinical trials that included > 100 patients or providers, and those which appear to have the potential for significant clinical impact, e.g. the carvedilol study)
  • Primary PubMed search string:  randomized controlled trial[ptyp] AND (telemedicine[mh] OR informatics[tiab] OR medical informatics[mh])
  • Secondary PubMed search string: randomized[ti] AND (telemedicine[mh] OR informatics[tiab] OR medical informatics[mh])
  • Follow-up with examination of editorials from JAMIA and news sites (e.g. Reuters) to identify 2-3 additional studies

 Computational biology searching methods:

  • Primary PubMed search string: computational biology[mh] NOT (review[pt] OR letter[pt] OR case reports[pt] OR editorial[pt])
  • Also (genomic[ti] OR genome[ti] OR bioinformatic*[ti]), limited to the core clinical journals.
  • Secondary PubMed search string: computational biology[mh] AND (letter[pt] OR editorial[pt])
  • To see which articles were generating more discussion, follow-up with consideration of key science blogs and news sites
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