As technology improves, institutions start to collect more and more information in order to track and evaluate a number of conditions. In terms of the Electronic Health Record, medical organizations are collecting more data about how their personnel are accessing and using the Electronic Health Record.
In the context of a medical negligence case, sometimes attorneys for the injured patient can use this collection of data to determine what went wrong with the patient’s care that caused harm.
First, the Electronic Health Record creates an Audit Trail that shows who accesses the Health Record. This could be from the time in and time out, to notes that were drafted, and even overall management of records. Attorneys can use this information to piece together what exactly happened for the patient during their medical care. If it shows that the physician’s only accessed the health record for a minimal amount of time, it would question the physician’s ability to detect or treat the condition.
Second, more recently organizations have started integrating newer programs into the Electronic Health Record to help with clinical performance. One example is a program that alerts the physician when the patient has been taking an existing medication and it is not compatible with a potential newer medication. A prudent attorney will recognize the potential advances that an organization’s Health Record has and be able to figure out if the physician ignored key signs in the Health Record or why the physician chose a particular path.
As technology improves, patients and society expect that their medical care should improve as well. With that improvement comes increased complexity for both doctors and attorneys. Both professions must recognize that the Health Record systems at organizations can help to improve physician’s clinical performance, resulting in better patient outcomes, and also allow for greater transparency when negligence does occur.
Read here to find out more:
[New Malpractice Risks in Your EHR](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/905629_4)
