This is the third installment of a four-part series dedicated to the importance of data mapping. Be sure to check out the previous two blogs where we discuss the importance of lab and medication mapping.
The problem: Messy and disparate allergy data
Allergies are linked to numerous chronic diseases and serious illnesses. Obtaining allergy information is a critical step toward safe prescribing, prevention of adverse drug events (ADEs), and reducing the cost of care. To share this vital information across the continuum and ensure the highest level of patient care, providers must fully document allergy information within electronic health records (EHRs) at the point of care.
Unfortunately, stakeholders face challenges when attempting to share allergy information due to incomplete and inconsistent healthcare data. In fact, many clinicians choose to enter allergies as un-coded free text because they are unable to reconcile language used by an EHR with familiar allergy terminologies.
In addition to the challenges of extracting allergy information from free text, some inhalant allergies (such as asthma, hay fever, and allergies to dust and mold) can be difficult to locate because they are typically found in the Problem List rather than the Allergy List of an EHR.
Documenting allergies will be increasingly important as food and environmental allergies become more common. If this information is not shared across institutions and providers, the potential for ADEs becomes much greater.
For example, peanut oil is found in a few injectable medications, and glucosamine tablets are sometimes derived from shellfish—two areas where an uptick in allergies has occurred in recent years. If providers unknowingly prescribe these medications to patients with allergies, there will be negative downstream consequences. Propofol is another example of a medication that could result in an ADE for patients with egg or soy allergies.
Incomplete and inconsistent allergy data is a significant industry problem. Prescribers override more than 90% of allergy alerts intended to protect patients from ADEs due to the belief that many of the documented EHR drug allergies are incorrect, and therefore inconsequential to patient care.