Key Takeaways: Analyzing (Big & Small) Data Capture and Availability in EMRs

Takeaways from Analyzing (Big & Small) Data Capture and Availability in Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) Use by Midwives to Support Black Women’s Birthing Care

From IDRIS Launch Event Speaker: Michelle L. Rogers Ph.D.

Key Takeaways:

• Leveraging patient data from EMRs, clinical expertise and the latest evidence, midwives can make informed care decisions that promote the best possible outcomes for mothers and babies throughout the maternity care journey.
• Understanding the impact of health care data (big and small) on work practices will be crucial to understand as the increase in use of AI in healthcare
• As healthcare services diversify, the ability to track and manage conditions in between clinical encounters, it will be key for managing multiple chronic conditions.

“Innovation is crucial in strategies that  we use for leveraging patient data from EMRs, clinical expertise and the latest evidence, in order for midwives to make informed care decisions that promote the best possible outcomes for mothers and babies throughout the maternity care journey.”

With the recent emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, hospital systems are looking to capitalize on the use of big data in healthcare work and practice. What began simply with the ability to search across patient populations and care venues, is now being used to identify disease trends and the ability to view clinician performance metrics. Just as studies of electronic medical records (EMRs) and the unintended consequences on medical errors and clinical work, understanding big data uses in midwifery practices should be studied. There is a role for small and big data in the patient care that midwives give. Across the US, as of 2022, the US had the highest maternal mortality rate (MMR) of industrialized countries and this rate is increasing (2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report). In addition, we know that there is limited reach of midwifery practice across the US, in spite of the fact that states with lower midwifery practice have higher MMR. Research data shows several interesting facts: 1) deliveries attended by midwives tended to have fewer complications and better outcomes (Merelli, 2023), 2) disparate and siloed datasets exist; 3) strategies for variables and data captured vary. The systems engineering initiative for patients safety (SEIPS) framework offers an applicable approach to understand the complexity of health care systems, practitioners, patients and the information systems they use. This presentation is designed to spark a discussion on approaches to examine current work practices of midwives and evaluate the use of electronic medical records data to improve health outcomes.