Healthcare IT News - December 2008 - (Page 42)

42 Healthcare IT News ■ December 2008 clinical toolkit www.HealthcareITNews.com study: EHRs may reduce malpractice settlements By Molly MErrIll, Associate Editor A new study finds that the use of electronic health records may reduce paid malpractice settlements for physicians. The study, which appeared in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, shows a trend toward lower paid malpractice claims for physicians who are active users of EHR technology. “There is broad consensus that BOStOn – electronic health records are an essential foundation for the delivery of high quality care. As electronic health record adoption proceeds as a national health policy objective, some have wondered whether EHRs can help to prevent medical malpractice claims,” said Harvard University Assistant Professor Steven Simon, senior author of the paper. The study examined survey responses from 1,140 practicing physicians in Massachusetts during 2005, focusing on demographic characteristics and the length and extent of EHR use. The investigators compared the presence or absence of malpractice claims among physicians with and without EHRs, including only claims that had been settled and paid. The study found that 6.1 percent of physicians with EHRs and 10.8 percent of physicians without them had paid malpractice settlements in the preceding 10 years. The investigators, after controlling for potential confounding variables, found a trend favoring EHR use, although the results weren’t statistically significant. In a secondary analysis among EHR adopters, the authors found that 5.7 percent of more active users of their systems had paid malprac- tice settlements, compared with 12.1 percent of less active users. The investigators speculate that EHRs may decrease paid malpractice claims for a number of reasons. EHRs offer easy access to patients’ history, which may result in fewer diagnostic errors, improved followup of abnormal test results and better adherence to clinical guidelines. ■ MoRE at HealthcareITnews.com e connect: MalpRactIcE 1208 ● rEvIEws Continued from page 41 If handling an ECG took only four steps, how many more patients could you see? I get an ECG order. I print it out. I type it in. I run the test. I print two copies. I put one in the patient chart. I send one to Cardiology. Cardiology finds the old report. Cardiology matches the two. Cardiology puts both in your inbox. You over read it. I have the notes transcribed. I print them out. I send them back to you. You approve them. I photocopy them twice. I put one in the patient chart. I send one to Billing. The order is already in the system. I run the test. You over read and hit “send.” It goes into the chart and to Billing (automatically). “Soarian Clinicals allows clinicians to go in one place to see all the information, whether they’re accessing in the inpatient units, in satellite family practice centers, or via a secure remote link.” Lesson learned: “The biggest challenge involved was integration – assembling a comprehensive electronic medical record with all the components we wanted, whether that’s order entry, documentation, results reporting or PACS – in one suite of applications.” Dan Cass, MD, director of medical informatics, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ont. “We are making a major investment to strengthen our services to the local community, and moving to a paperless health record is a cornerstone of that effort. OpenVista gives us a proven, cost-effective solution that will equip our staff with better information for making clinical decisions, enhance patient safety and help us handle growth of the area population over the next few years.” Linda Simmons, chief nursing officer and vice president of Operations, Memorial Hospital at Sweetwater County …And we see three more patients. ProducTs Continued from page 41 Department of Veterans Affairs’ proven VistA electronic health record that can be leveraged across the continuum of in-patient, acute, ambulatory and long-term care environments as well as in multi-facility, multi-specialty healthcare organizations. Contact: David MacFarlane, marketing communications manager, 760.692.3751, david.macfarlane@medsphere.com siemens medical solutions Soarian Clinicals http://www.medical.siemens.com/webapp/ wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay~q_ catalogId~e_-1~a_catTree~e_100010,100 8631,1018465,1017717,1017718,1018065~a _langId~e_-1~a_productId~e_182442~a_ storeId~e_10001.htm Soarian Clinicals provides a workflow-driven enterprise-wide information solution, built on a service-oriented architecture. It manages processes, as well as the clinical data, from beginning to end – across departments, disciplines, and care settings – to help improve outcomes and drive operational efficiencies. Contact: Maurice Locklear, maurice. locklear@siemens.com MoRE at HealthcareITnews.com e connect: pRoducts 1208 Adding Pyramis® 6.2, our latest HeartCentrix® data management product for the hospital market, could seriously improve your patient care, throughput, workflow, and bottom line. You can’t afford not to call us at 800.679.8703 (code 3150). And we’ll donate $50 to the American Heart Association on your behalf if we meet. e ● connect: caRdIacscIENcE 1208 Cardiac Science, “At the Heart of Saving Lives,” the Shielded Heart logo, Pyramis, and HeartCentrix are trademarks of Cardiac Science Corporation. Copyright © 2008 Cardiac Science Corporation. All Rights Reserved. MKT-00055-03 rA ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10518 http://www.medical.siemens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay~q_catalogId~e_-1~a_catTree~e_100010,1008631,1018465,1017717,1017718,1018065~a_langId~e_-1~a_productId~e_182442~a_storeId~e_10001.htm http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=10569 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10520

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Healthcare IT News - December 2008 Contents AHIC 2.0 Debuts See How It Works Monitored to Health Right Decisions Neurologist Needed HiMSS Insider: Four to the Board Heartened Generation Next Clinical Toolkit: Inpatient EMRs Management Solutions: Asset Tracking

Healthcare IT News - December 2008

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