The number of closed medical malpractice claims in which EHRs were a contributing factor has increased significantly over the past 10 years, according to a new study by The Doctors Company, the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer.
For the study, The Doctors Company compared 66 claims made from July 2014 through December 2016 with the results of a previous study of 97 claims from January 2007 through June 2014.
Here are four findings from the study.
1. From 2007 through 2010, EHRs were a factor in two medical malpractice claims. That number increased significantly from July 2014 through December 2016, when there were 66 EHR-related claims.
2. System factors, such as failure of drug or clinical decision support, were present in 33 of the 66 EHR-related claims from July 2014 through December 2016. User factors, such as copying and pasting progress notes, were present in 38 of the claims. Eight claims contained either more than one user or system factor, or both.
3. There was an increase in EHR-related claim events occurring in patient rooms from mid-2014 to 2016. During the same time period, fewer EHR-related claim events occurred in hospital clinics/physician offices, ambulatory surgery centers, labor and delivery, and emergency departments.
4. From January 2007 through June 2014, 43 percent of EHR-related claim events occurred in hospital clinics/physician offices — the most of any practice setting. That remained true from July 2014 through December 2016, when 35 percent of EHR-related claim events occurred in hospital clinics/physician offices.
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