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ME-P in the Forefront of “Reasonable” Skepticism

By Staff Reporters

There is no doubt that paper medical records can cause harm. They are easily lost and damaged, they disappear during emergencies, and they are often incomplete. 

With incorrect or missing information, doctors end up duplicating tests, making uninformed decisions and delaying care. 

Another POV

Well true enough, but redundancy also reduces the instantaneous and widespread electronic dissemination of incorrect information. For example, we’ve all seen patients allergic to the drug ampicillin, being confused with the drugs penicillin, amoxicillin, dicloxacillin, ticarcillin and bicillin, etc.

Now, just suppose an eMR patient history was inputted incorrectly by a doctor, nurse, or some medical assistant or lightly trained technical aide?  Instant error dissemination – times a zillion!

So, paper notes and medical charting redundancy does involve a bit of double-checking, which is a good thing!

THINK: Wrong sided surgery, never-events, etc.

The Skeptics

Patients – and all of us – deserve better, of course. And, we are naturally skeptical here at the ME-P. But, are electronic charts really the answer?

Alexander Friedman MD [Fellow in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania], author of this new WSJ essay, sure doesn’t seem to think so. He joins these other experts, opining both for and against eMRs on this ME-P.

Channel: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/category/information-technology/

Assessment

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126599531264644979.html

Conclusion

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Filed under: Information Technology, Professional Liability | Tagged: Alexander Friedman MD, EHRs, EMRs, never-events, wrong sided surgery, WSJ | 8 Comments »