Key result
The medical history and electronic health records must evolve to capture the longitudinal configuration history of dynamic programmable devices to prevent care delays and patient harm.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Standardizing the capture of dynamic device configurations in EHRs could prevent care delays and improve patient safety during transitions of care.
A patient presented with presyncope and palpitations several days after pacemaker generator replacement, raising concern that his prior individualized programming had not been restored. The surface electrocardiogram confirmed ventricular capture, but it could not reconstruct the patient’s previous pacing mode, rate-response settings, or detection thresholds or explain why those settings had been selected. None of that prior programming was recorded in our electronic health record (EHR). The cardiology fellow spent much of the day telephoning the device clinic and manufacturer, reconstructing fragments of a history that should have taken seconds to retrieve.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Derek T. O’Keeffe (2026) conducted an editorial in Patients with programmable medical devices. Structured EHR documentation of dynamic device configuration was evaluated. The medical history and electronic health records must evolve to capture the longitudinal configuration history of dynamic programmable devices to prevent care delays and patient harm.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: