Bridging The Inferential Gap: The Electronic Health Record And Clinical Evidence: Emerging tools can help physicians bridge the gap between knowledge they possess and knowledge they do not.
Open accessAbstract
Most clinical decisions involve bridging the inferential gap: Clinicians are required to "fill in" where they lack knowledge or where no knowledge yet exists. In this context we consider how the inferential gap is a product, in part, of how knowledge is created, the limits to gaining access to such knowledge, and the variable ways in which knowledge is translated into decisions. We consider how electronic health records (EHRs) will help narrow this gap by accelerating the creation of evidence relevant to everyday practice needs and facilitating real-time use of knowledge in practice.
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- Authors
- Stewart, W. F., Shah, N. R., Selna, M. J., Paulus, R. A., & Walker, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Geisinger Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Health Affairs
- Publisher
- Health Affairs Publishing, LLC
- Published
- 2007-01
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- Suppl1
- Pages
- w181-w191
- ISSN
- 0278-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 1544-5208
- PMC
- PMC2670472
- OpenAlex
- W2115967402
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 17.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Health Affairs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (L30 HL086108)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Medical Coding and Health Information
- Keywords
- electronic health records, clinical evidence, evidence-based practice, knowledge translation, clinical decision-making, knowledge production
- MeSH terms
- Clinical Competence, Diffusion of Innovation, Humans, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Quality of Health Care, United States, Program Evaluation, Medical Records Systems, Computerized, Evidence-Based Medicine, Decision Support Systems, Clinical
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