Thursday, January 1, 2026 1/1/2026

Improving Providers’ Decision-Making and Reducing Information Overload Using Information Visualization in Electronic Health Records

Award Number: R01LM013606
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/03/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Improving Providers’ Decision-Making and Reducing Information Overload Using Information Visualization in Electronic Health Records - Project Summary/Abstract Importance: Poor design of electronic health records (EHR) can cause providers to overlook crucial data, consequently impeding decision-making and adversely affecting patient safety and quality of care. Typically spending 3.3 hours per day using the EHR, ICU providers monitor 2.5 million data points per month and respond to 187 alerts per patient per day Visualization is the science of transforming textual data into a visual display. Dashboards are novel information visualization methods to organize data and hold the potential to reduce information and cognitive overload, thereby improving providers' decision-making through increased efficiency and reliability. Objective: Our goal is to investigate the efficacy of novel information visualization methods to improve ICU providers' decision-making, efficiency, and satisfaction. Specific aims: (1) Characterize the effect of EHR information overload on the quality of care by measuring prescribing providers' performance, information seeking load, information processing load using real-time patient data in institutional Epic® and Cerner® EHR in a laboratory setting. (2) Evaluate the effect of information visualization on providers' decision making; performance; efficiency; fatigue; workload; and satisfaction through real patient data in a randomized controlled trial. (3) Determine the acceptability, ease of use, and barriers to implementing information visualization dashboards into practice in an ICU setting, using guided interviews with ICU providers. Study Design: We will recruit ICU providers from four academic medical centers: two Epic® sites (UNC, Mayo Clinic) and two Cerner® sites (MedStar, University of Pittsburgh). The first study will aim to characterize the effect of current EHR information overload on providers' information processing abilities. Second, we will test the efficacy using an information visualization dashboard to improve the decision-making, efficiency, performance of providers compared to their institutional HER through a randomized trial. Third, we will conduct guided interviews to understand provider's perceptions around the implementation and use of visualization dashboard in real ICU settings. Discussion: We anticipate that completion of these aims will yield the following outcomes: 1) to add new knowledge around information overload-related patient safety risks in current EHRs; 2) to determine the efficacy of a visualization tool compared to prominent EHR interfaces Epic® and Cerner®; and 3) to create new knowledge around visualization implementation guidelines and usability best-practices. Because the visualization tool may improve the decision-making process for providers, we expect its use will increase patient safety and decrease the number of medical errors.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	4	12/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	4	11/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $331,648 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	001	4	5/2/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$33,165
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	4	2/29/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$298,483
														Subtotal = $331,648

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $331,648 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	3	1/26/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$331,648
														Subtotal = $331,648

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $338,482 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	2	2/2/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$338,482
														Subtotal = $338,482

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $346,025 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL	104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200	CHAPEL HILL	NC	27599	ORANGE	USA	Medical Library Assistance	000	1	5/3/2021	NEW	$346,025
														Subtotal = $346,025

Grand Total All Awards = $1,347,803

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Improving Providers’ Decision-Making and Reducing Information Overload Using Information Visualization in Electronic Health Records

Award Number: R01LM013606

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/03/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer