Grant explores Social Knowledge Networking

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded researchers at Augusta University $299,996 for a collaborative research project “Using Social Knowledge Networking (SKN) Technology to Enable Meaningful Use of EHR Medication Reconciliation Technology.”

The project period is from Oct. 2016 — Oct. 2018.

This exploratory & development (R21) project involves collaboration among AU researchers, AU Health medical staff, and the IT Division (Jaguar Collaborative) to implement an EHR-integrated Social Knowledge Networking (SKN) System on Medical Reconciliation (MedRec) at AU Health. The purpose of the SKN is to enable knowledge exchange related to best practices in MedRec among multiple practitioner groups (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists) across inpatient and outpatient settings of care, to reduce medication discrepancies during transitions of care, and produce an accurate active medication list for the patient. The project is now in the final stages of SKN implementation at AU Health (Phase 2), having completed Phase 1 (Development of SKN) in spring 2017. Our experiences suggest considerable potential of an SKN system to enable knowledge exchange and engagement among practitioners, to promote best practices in using EHR MedRec system to reduce medication discrepancies during care transitions.

The funding period continues until Oct. 2018 and results from Phase 1 have been presented and published in the proceedings of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Symposium.

• Rangachari, P. Dellsperger, K.C, Fallaw, D., Davis, I., Sumner, M., Fiedler, S. Nguyen, T. Rethemeyer, R. (2017) Setting the Stage for Implementing an EHR-integrated Social Knowledge Networking System on Medication Reconciliation. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings; 2017: 2155.

“Three cheers for SKN and the Jaguar Collaborative, Go Jags!”

Key investigators are

• Pavani Rangachari, PhD– Principal Investigator – CAHS, AU
• Kevin C Dellsperger, MD, PhD – Co-investigator – Chief Medical Officer, AU Health, Department of Medicine, MCG
• David Fallaw, MD– Co-investigator – Chief Medical Information Officer, AU Health, Department of Medicine, MCG
• Ian Davis, MD– Co-investigator – Hospitalist Chief, AU Health, Department of Emergency Medicine, MCG
• Michael Sumner, MD– Co-investigator – Hospitalist Medical Director, AU Health, Department of Emergency Medicine, MCG
• Walter Ray, CISSP, Co-investigator – Chief Information Security Officer, AU Health IT Division