EMRs could reproduce errors, Harvard MDs suggest

According to an article published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the use of EMRs has caused some caregivers to reproduce errors. The article, which is written by Pamela Hartzband, MD and Jerome Groopman, MD--both of whom work at Beth Israel and teach at Harvard Medical School--notes that physicians and other caregivers who use EMRs have a tendency to cut and paste information, rather than enter it in manually.

While this can be helpful, it can also lead to large blocks of medical notes being copied more or less as is, rather than creating their own careful analysis. Worse, these reproduced texts can be copied multiple times, perpetuating any errors that might exist, and potentially causing treatment problems. The authors suggests that EMRs be introduced cautiously, in a way that doesn't short-circuit interactions between doctors and patients, and that they include ample space for narrative notes. EMR templates that force physicians to limit themselves to small boxes can stifle a physician's thought process, they suggest.

To learn more about the paper:
- read this Healthcare IT News piece

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