A combination of federal government oversight and industry action is necessary to avert unintended consequences from EHR use.
Poor EHR system design and improper use can cause EHR-related errors that jeopardize the integrity of the information in the EHR, leading to errors that endanger patient safety or decrease the quality of care. These unintended consequences also may increase fraud and abuse and can have serious legal implications.
While the adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems promises a number of substantial benefits, including better care and decreased healthcare costs, serious unintended consequences from the implementation of these systems have emerged.
Physicians, nurses, and technicians using the mouse and keyboard to enter notes and medication lists occasionally make errors in data entry that result in incorrect dates, quantities, vital signs, or other details. Cut and paste errors Some EHR systems allow users to cut and paste details from previous notes.
It can be defined objectively as an inability to perform its required function, or subjectively as a failure to live up to expectations.
A new EHR invokes the process of change management or reorienting practices and resources in a way that avoids disruption . Change management not only concerns buy in from users but also aligning organizational culture with the goals an EHR can facilitate. For example, if a provider selects an EHR that does not possess strong data analytics capabilities, yet the provider’s organizational goals involve using data to improve quality in the future one can cite this as an example of poor change management in that the technology does not align with the organizational goals and culture.
Of course, meaningful use attestation plays a significant role in shaping the strategic vision of providers; however, the benefits to be gained from an EHR should evolve from simply being in compliance with Meaningful Use standards to assisting a practice in meeting strategic goals. Practices often make the mistake of not setting clear goals, which, in turn, makes it difficult to use an EHR to its full advantage.
Sometimes practices make mistakes in selecting EHR software. According to some surveys, over 50% of practices with EHR software experience some form of dissatisfaction with their system after implementation. What are the three most common, and what steps can a practice take to minimize the impact?
Although there is always a risk of EHR failure in varying degrees, practices can insulate themselves from a large amount of risk through identifying common areas of EHR failure and taking steps to mitigate the risk.
November 14, 2018 - Clinical decision support systems that use hard stops, in which a response is required before a user can move forward with a task, are associated with higher performance on both process and outcomes measures, according to a new study published in JAMIA.
Hard stops were also found to be more effective than soft stops, during which the user can easily override the suggestion, in three out of four studies. The authors are quick to note, however, that performance improvements were only achieved in organizations that embraced user feedback and leveraged iterative design to create intuitive ...