WASHINGTON, D.C. —Improving electronic health record (EHR) systems, to eliminate challenges that can lead to patient harm and make EHRs more efficient and less time-consuming for clinicians, can be achieved with certain policy changes that allow for sharing of information among end users, researchers and developers, according to an opinion piece published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article was written by Raj Ratwani, PhD, a leading EHR usability expert with MedStar’s National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, and two collaborators, Michael Hodgkins, MD, of the American Medical Association, Chicago, and David W. Bates, MD,…

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Using Technology to Transform Health Care COLUMBIA, MD — MedStar Health is designated “Most Wired” according to results of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) HealthCare’s Most Wired survey results, released this month. The designation marks MedStar’s 14th appearance on the list. Based on an analysis of the Most Wired survey results, hospitals and health systems at the forefront of using healthcare Information Technology (IT) to improve the delivery of care are maximizing the benefits of foundational technologies and embracing new technologies that support population management and value-based care. The most successful organizations not only adopt technology, but apply…

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WASHINGTON, DC —Electronic health records (EHRs) may present a significant risk to the health and safety of children, according to a new study published today in the November issue of the health policy journal Health Affairs. Of 9,000 analyzed pediatric reports, more than one third described a medication error that was related to EHR usability. The findings emerged from the analysis of pediatric patient safety event reports that were likely to be related to EHRs and medication, gathered from three healthcare systems. The most common type of medication error associated with EHR usability was an over- or under dose. The…

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