Use of an Electronic Record Audit to Enhance Mental Health Training for Pediatric Residents

Background: Increased emphasis has been placed in pediatric residency programs on the identification and treatment of child mental health disorders.

Description: An electronic record audit was developed to assess residents' behavioral health skills and optimize behavioral health training. Information from the electronic audit was used to provide feedback to preceptors, modify the training curriculum, and increase access to mental health referrals.

Evaluation: The audit determined the frequency of detected mental health problems, types of disorders identified, use of screening instruments, and behavioral health interventions and/or referrals by pediatric residents over a 2-year period. However, measurement of the effectiveness of curriculum and training interventions was undetermined due to the evolving implementation of changes based on continuous audit findings.

Conclusions: Recommendations for future use of this technique include establishing baseline skills and targeting specific areas for training and evaluation, providing feedback to residents, and tracking specific patients over time.