AAP Computer Committee Offers Information
Interested computer users are encouraged to browse the SCOCIT home page for interesting information. Kapiolani/HPH medical staff members are urged to browse through the EMR evaluation site. HPH will begin a pilot program to offer the EPIC platform for office use. This is the system being implemented across HPH and is currently "live" in limited format at Straub and Wilcox. Prospective private practice users should become informed about the pros and cons of the EPIC system.
The Steering Committee on Clinical Information Technology (SCOCIT) was established within the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2002 by a merger of the Section on Computers & Other Technologies and the Task Force on Medical Informatics. SCOCIT supports the need for AAP members at the national and chapter level to understand how computerized information systems in the clinical setting can benefit the health of children and improve the effectiveness of care by pediatricians.
For the last year, SCOCIT has been working to develop closer ties with AAP chapters. We have assigned local SCOCIT members to serve as contacts to 36 chapters. (The list can be found in the Chapters area of the AAP Member Center at www.aap.org/moc.) Earlier this Spring, SCOCIT conducted a survey of Chapter leaders in an effort to understand how we can be of service to you. 38 of 66 chapters responded (57.6%), and we are grateful for your participation. We learned a great deal about what the chapters are currently doing in the area of clinical information technology, as well as what SCOCIT can do to contribute. Among lessons learned were the following:
 Most chapters (65.8% of respondents) do not have any technology presentations at their annual chapter meetings.
Response: Each year, SCOCIT sponsors a series of lectures in the Technology Learning Center (formerly the Computer Lab) at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition (NCE). (See SCOCIT's web site at http://www.scocit.org/labhome.php for a listing of lectures for 2005.) If your chapter is interested in inviting our faculty to repeat their presentations at your chapter meeting, or if you'd like to find a local SCOCIT member to talk about clinical information technology at your meeting, we can help make that connection.
63.2% of respondents expressed interest in using a SCOCIT writer's bureau to include a technology-related column in their chapter newsletters.
Response: Visit www.scocit.org to see a sample SCOCIT newsletter, including the full table of contents from our most recent issue. If you'd like to reproduce an article in your chapter newsletter, we'd be happy to work with you. Or, if you need help finding a local pediatrician to write an original article, we can put you in touch with a SCOCIT member.
Only 2.6% of respondents have a segment of their chapter web site devoted to clinical information technology.
Response: Visit www.scocit.org for content ideas. SCOCIT can also help you get in touch with a local SCOCIT member who might be able to help identify content and links.
The respondents listed the following clinical information technology-related topics as generating the most interest in their chapters:
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) - 78.4%
- Electronic Prescribing - 51.4%
- Internet-based Professional Education (CME) - 48.6%
- Practice Management Software - 43.2%
- Wireless Devices (Tablet PCs, PDAs, etc) - 37.8%
Response: SCOCIT can help your chapter address these topics through presentations at your annual chapter meeting, newsletter articles, and identifying web resources. |
