Dangerous Glitches Still to be Worked Out in Electronic Medical Records
July 30, 2013
Electronic medical records are part of the constantly evolving big-data landscape, and there have been some issues, according to Bloomberg‘s “Digital Health Records’ Risks Emerge as Deaths Blamed on Systems.” Not surprisingly, the period just after a new EMR system is implemented has been found to be the most dangerous time. See the article for examples of harm caused by errors. Journalist Jordan Robertson writes:
“Electronic health records are supposed to improve medical care by providing physicians quick and easy access to a patient’s history, prescriptions, lab results and other vital data. While the new computerized systems have decreased some kinds of errors, such as those caused by doctors’ illegible prescriptions, the shift away from paper has also created new problems, with sometimes dire consequences.”
Perhaps it would help if docs could access necessary data. Yet, even now, medical practices have trouble prying clinical data from their EMR systems. Apparently, a lack of data integration is the culprit, according to “Why do Docs Struggle with Population Health Data?” at Government HealthIT. That article summarizes:
“Today, with modern EHR systems, clinicians may have an easier time getting clinical data — but not all of it, which is a problem for providers pursuing population health goals. It’s also a problem as federal health officials and patient-safety organizations like the National Quality Forum try to transition from process-based quality measurements. . . to outcomes-based metrics.”
Are such digital-data challenges confined to health records alone? Unlikely, though in few (if any)other fields is big data consistently a life-and-death issue. We must remember that digital health records have also been shown to improve outcomes, but are we netting more good than bad? I suspect so, but we will probably never know for certain. One thing is sure: there’s no turning back now. Surely, mistakes will decline as systems are refined and staff acclimated. I know that is cold comfort to anyone who has suffered such a preventable loss.
Cynthia Murrell, July 30, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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