Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/125940
special feature A S fer Set of tools for ehr soon, Vendors oF health care inForMation technology (it) systeMs May haVe to release Metrics related to the clinical saFety oF their soFtWare. For Physicians and the Public, such data Will ProVe a WelcoMe insight into the soMetiMes-Murky Picture oF Patient saFety issues related to health care it. E lECtROniC HEaltH RECORdS (EHR) tend to get discussed in terms of administrative functions, such as record-keeping, appointment reminders and billing. However, they also hold promise to improve patient safety ... and endanger it. During 2013, a coalition of health information technology (IT) experts and physicians will be tackling ways to make health care IT safer for patients. Proven Success In many ways, EHRs and their ancillary, computerized patient order entry (CPOE), are improving patient safety. Errors due to sloppy handwriting can be avoided when orders are typed rather than scribbled. Medication alerts can flag drug allergies or request confirmation when a provider inadvertently moves a decimal to the left or right in a prescription. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has compiled multiple case studies illustrating the power of health care IT to preserve and even improve patient safety. For instance, health care IT systems have been instrumental in reducing venous thromboembolism (VTE) across Texas Health Resources' 12 acute-care hospitals, according to self-reported data. Risk factors for VTE were populated from patient EHRs and drove reminder messaging every four hours. Use of VTE prophylaxis increased once the reminder system was in place, and the incidence of VTE decreased significantly. Pitfalls Remain On the other hand, health care IT has also contributed to unsafe patient situations. At the moment, no national, standardized reporting system exists, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does report "adverse events" associated with health care IT, as enforced by the medical device reporting regulation. Nonetheless, state authorities, professional organizations and individual reports point to multiple concerns. In Pennsylvania, for example, the Patient Safety Authority listed 3,099 EHR-related safety events between 2004 and 2012. Of these, 16 resulted in patient harm. Because reporting of health care IT-related safety events is voluntary and many vendor contracts specify physicians cannot comment on vendors' products or even release screen shots, it is difficult to estimate the overall harm and situations with the potential for harm generated by EHR, CPOE and other health care IT systems. On December 21, 2012, the Office of the 16 | Greater Boston MD News ■ mdnEwS.COm