Work

Leveraging the electronic health records to mitigate the effects of a nation-wide shortage of blood culture bottles

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate how electronic health records (EHR) optimization and data analytics supported a large rural health system action plan to mitigate the effects of a nation-wide blood culture bottle shortage. Materials and Methods: Following the announcement of a nationwide blood culture bottle shortage on July 10, 2024, we implemented EHR order modification, alternative alerts (LMAs) for clinical decision support (CDS), and developed a data analytics dashboard to track daily orders and inventory. We analyzed changes in daily blood culture specimen utilization before and after the EHR interventions using run charts. We assessed blood culture positivity and contamination rates, and provider interactions with LMAs as process measures. Results: The EHR-based interventions led to a sustained 81% reduction in daily blood culture utilization during the shortage. Blood culture contamination rates remained consistent at 5.1% pre- and post-interventions, and positivity rates were stable (13.5% pre vs 12.8% post). Analysis of LMAs showed that 16% of blood culture orders were canceled after the alert, with only 3% reordered within one hour. The utilization and inventory monitoring reports became top 10% most-used within the health system, supporting operational decisions. Discussion: Combining EHR optimization, CDS via LMAs, and data analytics effectively mitigated a critical resource shortage, demonstrated by a sustained 81% reduction in blood culture bottle utilization without compromising patient care. EHR order modifications contributed to the initial reduction; LMAs sustained the decrease and were well-received compared to traditional alerts. Rapid development of data analytics reports supported data-driven operational decisions.

Source: JAMIA Open

DOI: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooag003