While the use of electronic health record systems may seem like a promise of substantial benefits for the health of patients, including decreased healthcare costs, better care, and more advantages to hospitals, serious unintended consequences result from the implementation of such systems.
Poor designs and improper use of EHR systems could lead to EHR related errors that could jeopardize the integrity of information in the EHR, and lead to errors that may endanger the safety of patients or reduce the quality of care they receive. The unintended consequences may also lead to an increase in fraud, abuse and lead to serious legal implications.
Though it sounds like a good idea to use electronic records to help hospitals improve the care of their patients, there is a greater chance that it puts hundreds at risks. A simple mouse slip could instead take patients to emergency rooms as doctors click wrong file numbers.
Other errors associated with electronic records such as:
Wrong Medications to a Patient
Electronic errors can cause patients to receive medications at the wrong times, and sometimes, the wrong medications can get to the wrong patient. An improper dosage or no drug at all can lead to increased death rates.
Wrong Entry of Patient Names
Elsewhere, electronic health records could give the error of not displaying patient names properly. When this happens, the nurse could miss the name of the patient and end up opening a wrong person’s file. Sometimes, the electronic record systems could shuffle records of patients and this results in the appearance of one patient’s data into another patient’s record.
Delayed or Missing Data Delivery
Sometimes, a common error that tags along with such systems is the delayed delivery of data. The systems could take as much as a minute to load important data when a doctor is in the surgery theatre or ICU. Such delayed results could lead to delayed medical treatments and consequently affect the life of patients.
Clock Synchronization Errors between Systems and Medical Devices
Another error associated with electronic records is the delayed clock synchronization between medical systems and devices. These delays could hinder the time taken to examine a patient as the data shared in one device will take some time to update in the other device. Such delays not only waste the time of doctors, but it also slows the time taken to examine a patient.
Outdated Information Recopied Into a New Report
Sometimes, electronic records come with default settings, which means they can recopy old information into new reports on their own. When such errors occur, doctors can find it difficult to track the medical records of their patients on time.
Other possible errors associated with electronic records include default values being entered by mistake, inconsistencies with patient information in both paper and electronic records and a lot more.
If you see such cases occurring, or experience electronic errors in any hospital and need someone to pay special attention to the problem, then it’s best that you consult Dr. Michael Gleeson. He isn’t just a remarkable doctor, but he can also handle any legal issues related to electronic error cases.
