Problem Lists Use Across Institutions: Implications for EHR Use and Design at Memorial Hermann

Alan Weiss, MD, Director of Medical Informatics, Memorial Hermann.  Problem lists (PL) are an essential clinical tool, but are often poorly maintained.  Dr. Weiss has investigated PL use at the Cleveland Clinic, Cedars-Sinai and at Memorial Hermann, and shares analyses and insights.  Due to a lack of consensus on problem lists use and territorial issues of problem ownership, there is an inevitable increase in the length of PLs and commensurate decrease in their usefulness. These issues are made worse by the fact that while most EMRs help providers add items to PL, they do not have automated tools to clean and maintain them.  Dr. Weiss uses data across three institutions to illustrate these points and provide potential solutions as well to show the effect ICD-10 will have on this issue.