Some physicians practice potentially risky behavior when using electronic health records, according to a recent study published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Researchers examined 2,068 electronic patient progress reports created by 62 residents and 11 attending physicians working in the intensive care unit of a Cleveland hospital for the study. Plagiarism-detection software was used to analyze progress notes for 135 patients over a five-month period.
The researchers found that many physicians copy and paste old information into patients' EHRs. Some of the findings include:
• Eighty-two percent of progress notes created by medical residents contained 20 percent or more of copied and pasted material from patient records.
• Seventy-four percent of progress notes created by attending physicians contained 20 percent or more of copied and pasted material from patient records.
According to the report, pasting and copying information into EHRs is risky for numerous reasons, such as overlooking outdated or inaccurate information in a patient's treatment regimen. This would be particularly dangerous in settings such as intensive care units where small changes to a patient's treatment could affect his/her condition, according to the report.
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Researchers examined 2,068 electronic patient progress reports created by 62 residents and 11 attending physicians working in the intensive care unit of a Cleveland hospital for the study. Plagiarism-detection software was used to analyze progress notes for 135 patients over a five-month period.
The researchers found that many physicians copy and paste old information into patients' EHRs. Some of the findings include:
• Eighty-two percent of progress notes created by medical residents contained 20 percent or more of copied and pasted material from patient records.
• Seventy-four percent of progress notes created by attending physicians contained 20 percent or more of copied and pasted material from patient records.
According to the report, pasting and copying information into EHRs is risky for numerous reasons, such as overlooking outdated or inaccurate information in a patient's treatment regimen. This would be particularly dangerous in settings such as intensive care units where small changes to a patient's treatment could affect his/her condition, according to the report.
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