The Effects of e-interventions on the Medical Outcomes of Hemodialysis Patients: A Retrospective Matched Patient Cohort Study

• Main Authors: Chang-Chyi Jenq, Cheng-Chieh Hung, Kuo-Chang Juan, Kuang-Hung Hsu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2017-06-01
• Series: Scientific Reports
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02815-9

Abstract Aggressively applying e-interventions in the health care industry has become a global trend to improve the quality of medical care. The present retrospective study evaluated the effect of electronic information systems on the quality of medical care provide to hemodialysis (HD) patients. In total, 600 patients (300 patients each in the e-intervention and non-e-intervention groups, were matched for sex, age, HD duration, diabetes, and hypertension) receiving HD at the study institute for four years were included in this study. The e-intervention group had significantly fewer hospitalization days than the non-e-intervention group. Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the non-e-intervention group had a significantly higher mortality rate than the e-intervention group. Stratified analysis revealed significant differences between the e-intervention and non-e-intervention groups in their serum albumin levels, urea reduction ratios, and cardiothoracic ratios at 1-year follow-up. The patients in the e-intervention group had a significantly higher HD blood flow rate, fewer hospitalization days and a lower 4-year all-cause mortality rate than those in the non-e-intervention group. The implementation of the e-intervention improved patient outcomes, but additional studies are required to evaluate the cost effectiveness of such implementations.