The answer to the above question may be a resounding “yes”. A study done as far back as a decade ago showed that EHR usage reduces the malpractice liability by 80%. And things have indeed come a long way since those early transformative years of the EHR revolution.
Today, one is spoilt for choices when it comes to EHR selection, but then “all that glitters is not gold”, even the ones certified for meaningful use. So, how does one sift through the lot and come up with a product that really holds true to the above statistic. It can be done with the aid of a dedicated third-party support service, who can make this choice for you, as well as ensuring that the chosen system does not fall prey to the same pitfalls of the paper-based system it replaces.
Advantages of EHR Over Paper-Based Systems:
- Greater clarity of the information stored.
- Data storage for life.
- Clinical Decision Making Support.
- Easy Accessibility for all the stakeholders.
- Greater control over revenue cycle management.
Reasons for a High Degree of Malpractice Suits in Paper-Based Systems:
- Lack of proper communication between the different providers of a given patient.
- Difficulty in timely access of patient information to treat an emergent medical condition.
- Dangerous prescribing methodologies.
- Ambiguous adherence to clinical guidelines.
An EHR, when properly chosen and maintained, with the help of a dedicated support team, ensures that all of the above triggers for malpractice lawsuits do not see the light of the day.
Consider the following scenario:
A doctor suspects that a patient may be suffering from a rare form of pancreatic tumor, Insulinoma and orders a C-peptide level. The results might take a couple of days to arrive, but what if it does not arrive at all due to lost or misplaced lab results.
What if the doctor forgets that he ever ordered such a test and continues treating the patient for Type I diabetes, and the patient goes into a diabetic coma? This is a sure-fire case for a huge malpractice lawsuit that would ruin the provider.
With an EHR the above scenario may never appear, since the lab result would have been instantaneously loaded into the EHR and made available to the provider, prompting him to consider it even if he/she had forgotten about its existence.
All EHRs Are Not Custom-Made for Everyone:
But the choice of an EHR should also be guided by the field of your speciality and the size of your practice and cost considerations. While PracticeFusion may work for a number of small independent general practitioners, it may not be the right choice, say for a 100-bedded psychiatric clinic. Avatar may work better here. Of course, the ultimate choice depends on the results of a thorough systems analysis.
But come what may, it has been proven beyond a shred of doubt that EHRs might eventually save one from the road to bankruptcy, be it via financial hara-kiri or malpractice lawsuits.
