“Risk assessment scores that use EHR data can successfully predict clinical outcomes, resulting in rapid patient care decisions for veterans who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a study published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE).”
“As part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) developed the Care Assessment Need (CAN) scoring system, a risk stratification tool that uses data from the EHR.”
“CAN scores aim to support ambulatory care teams in the systemic identification of high-risk outpatients to better target resources. Having the ability to predict a patient’s clinical course could enhance patient care, family counseling, resource allocation, and social distancing strategies.”
“A patient with a higher CAN score, based on a 99-point scale, has a heightened risk compared to her respective peers. The scoring is based on sociodemographics, clinical diagnoses, medications, lab values, vital signs, and utilization data, and is calculated for event categories which include hospitalization, mortality, and hospitalization or mortality.”
“Researchers noted the CAN score is directly correlated with and has the ability to predict the majority of patient outcomes…” Read the full article here.
Source: How VA Used EHR Data for COVID-19 Risk Assessments – By Christopher Jason, July 28, 2020. EHR Intelligence.
