The purpose of this project was to evaluate the use of unique fields in a hospital-based electronic health record (EHR) system to document indicators of abuse, including human trafficking. These fields were developed to support clinicians with screenings and to quantify the number of trafficked individuals identified. A nonprofit health system launched a program to prepare its staff to identify and assist patients who may be experiencing trafficking. As part of these efforts, the health system implemented a new field in its EHR system to document indicators of human trafficking. This was in addition to other fields available to document indicators of abuse. A data analyst compiled all patient encounters from three of the health system’s hospitals in which a clinician documented at least one response in at least one of the fields described above from March 2019 to February 2020 (N=566). The health system’s human trafficking response program director, who is also a subject matter expert on the topic, then reviewed the data to establish a final data set (n=110). Using descriptive statistics and qualitative analyses, the final data set was evaluated for hospital locations, types of services, patient demographics, chief complaints, and indicators of abuse, including human trafficking. This presentation will report on the use and outcomes of these fields and the effectiveness of having separate fields to document indicators of different types of abuse, including trafficking.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Holly Gibbs is the Director of CommonSpirit Health’s Human Trafficking Response Program. In 2014, Holly’s book, “Walking Prey: How America's Youth are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery,” was published by St. Martin’s Press; and in 2019, she received the Sister Concilia Moran Award from the Catholic Health Association.
Mary Beth Burrell is a nurse, perinatal safety specialist, and clinical informatics expert at CommonSpirit Health. She has supported the electronic health record (EHR) design for the Human Trafficking Response Program for many years. This includes developing and implementing screening and intervention forms and confidential mandated reporting forms.