Becker's Hospital Review

64 CIO / HEALTH IT Why EHRs may be slowing COVID-19 vaccinations By Jackie Drees T he lack of interoperability between EHRs is causing issues for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, including scheduling, keeping track of side effects and ensuring doses are being distributed equal- ly, according to Bob Kocher, MD, adjunct professor at Stanford (Calif.) University. In a February interview with NPR, Dr. Kocher, who helped advise the state of California's COVID-19 testing efforts and previously served on a healthcare council in the Obama administration, highlight- ed the issues with EHRs that are holding back the widespread administration of the COVID-19 vaccines. With more than 1,000 different EHR sys- tems in the U.S., and almost every hospital and clinic having a slightly different system customized to its needs, the systems are dis- connected and slow down the data-sharing process, Dr. Kocher said. For example, many vaccine distribution sites are using their own electronic systems for scheduling, which makes it difficult for people to find and sign up for appointments. e disparate EHR systems can make it dif- ficult for someone to sign up for a second appointment at a different place than where they received their first dose of the vaccine, which may happen in cases of clinics get- ting too busy or running out of supplies, Dr. Kocher said. EHRs are also limiting researchers' efforts to collect data on vaccines, Dr. Kocher said, adding that, "We don't know how long pro- tection lasts from the vaccines," and even though the FDA is trying to collect informa- tion about adverse reactions, some practi- tioners are not using the separate portal. Without a central data management sys- tem, it will be hard for researchers to get answers to important questions such as: "Did the vaccine wear off ? Was it a different strain? And did they have any side effects?" Dr. Kocher said. Many states and counties also want data on race and ethnicity of people who have been vaccinated to ensure the limited supply of shots is reaching harder hit communities equitably, he said. However, not all EHRs collect race and ethnicity data on patients. n Cerner executive turnover in 2021: 5 things to know By Jackie Drees K ansas City, Mo.-based Cerner made several key leadership changes this year. Here are five things to know about the changes among the EHR vendor's C-suite leadership team in 2021 as of February: 1. Amanda Adkins, vice president of strategic growth at Cerner, left the EHR company after losing her campaign for a seat in Congress. Ms. Adkins had taken a leave of absence from Cerner in January 2020 to focus on her cam- paign to unseat U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., in Kansas' 3rd Congres- sional District. She lost the Nov. 20 election by about 10 percentage points. 2. Cerner CEO Brent Shafer announced Jan. 15 that John Peterzalek, exec- utive vice president and chief client and services officer, would depart. He remained at the company as an adviser until Feb. 27. 3. Travis Dalton, who oversees Cerner's government services division, was promoted to executive vice president and chief client and services officer, replacing Mr. Peterzalek. 4. Mr. Shafer also announced Jan. 15 that Cerner Chief Legal Officer Ran- dy Sims would be leaving the company, with Dan Devers set to replace him. Mr. Devers had been serving as Cerner's senior vice president of cloud strategies. 5. Mark Erceg joined Cerner Feb. 22 as the company's executive vice presi- dent and CFO. Mr. Erceg replaces longtime Cerner executive Marc Naugh- ton, who in October said he would be leaving the company after 30 years. Mr. Naughton finished as CFO at the end of the first quarter of 2021 and will serve as an executive adviser to assist with the transition. n Health system, CDC ads found on COVID-19 misinformation sites By Katie Adams M isinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 have proliferated online throughout the pandemic, and some unlikely brands advertise on sites that house these false- hoods, according to an analysis released Feb. 17 by NewsGuard. From February 2020 to February 2021, NewsGuard identified websites known to publish COVID-19 misinformation and found they featured 42,000 different ads from 4,315 brands. Among the brands are the CDC, Pfizer, Rochester, Minn.- based Mayo Clinic, New Hyde Park, N.Y.- based Northwell Health, Stanford (Calif.) Health Care and Pittsburgh-based UPMC. It is likely the ads appeared on the sites by chance, as algorithms target key au- diences and deliver ads on the sites they visit. n

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