EHRs improve documentation of adverse events during CT contrast studies

Electronic health record adoption improved the reporting of extravasation incidents that occur during contrast CT studies, according to new research from the University of North Carolina. Complete documentation of these incidents rose from 22 percent with the use of paper records to 60 percent upon implementation of an EHR system. With paper records, 62 percent of such incidents were not documented at all; that figure dropped to 5 percent when EHRs were used. Extravasation can cause swelling, pain, tissue necrosis and skin ulcerations. Article