Although researchers involved with a recently issued report by the American Medical Association (AMA) focusing upon electronic health records (EHRs) say that they take no official position one way or the other on EHRs, their report manifestly indicates a number of wide-ranging problems with the evolving hospital technology.
Is it glass half full or half empty concerning the nexus between EHR systems and patient harm? In other words, are the relatively new systems being implemented at a constant pace in hospitals and clinics across the country improving patient safety or, in some cases, actually undermining it by precipitating or contributing to acts of medical malpractice and hospital negligence?
The report cites a litany of broad-based problems that have accompanied the emergence of EHR systems, including these: poorly designed systems with software that is far from user friendly; a data-entry process that encourages copying and pasting data and that contributes to what researchers call "automatic behavior" rather than meaningful analysis; and assorted problems that result in "generating new types of errors."
In fact, says Dr. David Classen, a consultant on the AMA report, "There is still very limited evidence that EHRs improve the safety of care in the average doctor's office."
Classen adds that, notwithstanding the glitches in EHR processes, electronic patient records are here to stay and that they have special utility in measuring performance in large studies and across voluminous amounts of data.
Much still remains uncertain regarding the future of EHRS, though, in terms of the type and timing of their implementation on a truly comprehensive scale.
As the AMA report notes: "It is not yet clear how many providers will adopt these systems, nor the extent to which health IT will improve patient safety in ambulatory care versus generating new types of errors."
Source: Information Week, "EHRs linked to errors, harm, AMA says" Ken Terry, Jan. 13, 2012
