The overarching goal of this proposal is for Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to work with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) to develop, implement, evaluate, and export innovative behavioral and social science (BSS) Electronic Health Record and Health Information Technology (EHR/HIT) curriculum teaching the effective, professional and culturally sensitive use of technology as an intrinsic aspect of health care. The project will address all six BSS domains mentioned in the 2004 IOM report which prompted the original NIH K-07 RFA (Patient Behavior, Doctor Role and Behavior, Doctor-Patient Interactions, Social/Cultural Issues, Heath Policy/Economics, and Mind-Body Interactions). Collaboration between institutions and with the BSS R-25 consortium will allow curricular innovations to be tested in a wide variety of educational settings and increase the generalizability of the BSS EHR/HIT curriculum. Throughout the project, both OHSU and UTHSCSA will recruit and develop faculty interested in BSS careers through mentored teaching, researching, presenting and publishing.
Our Specific aims i nclude: Develop a comprehensive BSS EHR/HIT curriculum which includes a Simulated EHR (SIM-EHR) training database containing virtual patient cases adaptable to different specialties and levels of medical education (medical student, resident, practicing faculty). Continue to selectively enhance the overall BSS curriculum at both schools. Evaluate the effectiveness of both the general BSS curriculum and BSS EHR/HIT curriculum. Export BSS EHR/HIT curricular innovations and research findings to a larger national audience. Foster BSS careers by recruiting faculty for the interdisciplinary development, teaching, evaluation, and dissemination of curriculum resulting from the BSS EHR/HIT project. Expand the current behavioral and social science consortium from 9 to 18 schools, continue collaborations and national dissemination efforts, and enhance collective evaluation under the aegis of a coordinating center. The relevance of this proposal lies in the fact that EHR/HIT is rapidly being implemented before professionals are trained in its use in a safe, cost-aware, culturally sensitive, patient-centric manner. BSS EHR/HIT skills need to be taught and existing validated curriculum does not currently exist. This proposal will fill that educational void and allow educational innovations to be researched and disseminated for the benefit of other health care training programs.
OHSU and UTHSCSA propose to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate a curriculum to equip new physicians to maintain patient centeredness in the era of the electronic health record (EHR) and health information technology (HIT). We will collaborate with the R-25 consortium to enhance, adapt, implement and assess general Behavioral and Social Science curriculum and export curricular innovations to national audiences.
