If your doctor is not yet using electronic medical records, it is only a matter of time before he or she does. Though it is not mandatory for hospitals and doctors’ offices to use electronic records, the federal government is strongly encouraging them to do so through both financial incentives and penalties. If medical providers adopt electronic records, they will be paid an incentive over five years. If they haven’t adopted them by 2015, however, they will start to face financial penalties.
While there are certainly benefits to using electronic records, they can and have caused serious medical errors in the past. One major cause of concern is when a hospital or doctor’s office uses a hybrid paper and electronic record system. The possibility of mistake is very real and can have severe, if not fatal consequences.
Imagine going to the doctor and undergoing the normal pregnancy-related tests. After a series of diagnostic tests, your doctor records that your child is showing signs of a condition that will require a specialized delivery technique or specific medications. Yet he or she wrote this note in your paper records, not your electronic record. By the time it is time to deliver, however, if the doctor only has your electronic record, if it has not been properly updated, you or your child could be in trouble.
Though electronic records are expected to make the practice of medicine safer, this will only work if they are properly put in place and used correctly. If not, patients could be at risk.
Source: Boston Globe, “Hazards tied to medical records rush,” Christopher Rowland, July 20, 2014
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