Scientists from the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research compared the number of vitamin D deficiency screenings ordered during the six months after the intervention took place to the number ordered during the six months prior to changing the ordering system. Total tests decreased from 74 per 1,000 members to 24 tests per 1,000 members. Inappropriate testing decreased from 44 to 30 percent, and appropriate testing rose from 56 to 70 percent.

This saved money and time for patients and the health care system, and also helped educate patients and providers about who should be tested and who shouldn’t.

This is one of the first studies to show how changes in the electronic ordering system can reduce unnecessary vitamin D testing, and it was published online in the Journal of the American Informatics Association.