AHLA Releases Resource to Minimize EHR-Related Safety Events

The American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) has released Minimizing EHR-Related Serious Safety Events to assist healthcare organizations in reducing the unintended consequences that can occur with electronic health record (EHR) systems. The resource contains three separate guidelines to promote EHR safety: (1) a checklist of questions for organizations to ask during EHR implementation and maintenance to help them identify the best practices to prevent EHR-related serious safety events; (2) guidelines for EHR performance metrics to track and to report to the organization’s board of trustees, which has a fiduciary obligation to oversee the safety of the systems; and (3) an emergency preparedness checklist to help organizations integrate their health information technology (IT) systems into their emergency preparedness planning so that they address backup measures to their IT systems when disasters occur, as well as appropriate response and recovery. “While EHRs promote more complete documentation of and timely access to patient information, thereby facilitating sound clinical decision-making, EHRs also can create new serious safety events and increased liability for healthcare providers,” AHLA says.