Are Medical Liability Claims for EHR-Related Errors Rising?

Electronic health record (EHR)-related errors are playing a modest but increasing role in medical liability claims, according to a recent study by The Doctors Company, an insurer. The researchers analyzed claims from the company's 80,000 members from July 2014 through December 2016 and found that 66 (1.6% of total claims) had EHR-related factors, representing an increase from 0.9% of total claims from 2007 through June 2014. Typically, EHR claims were a contributing factor in a malpractice claim and not the primary cause. In the new study, 58% of EHR-related claims involved user error and 50% involved systems factors. (A claim could include both user and system factors.)