Obamacare Mandated Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Could Cause Unintentional Problems

There has been a lot of discussion lately about Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The federal government, as part of the changes implemented by what is known as “Obamacare’, is requiring all health care providers to use electronic medical records. The theory is that these records will be easy to transfer between facilities and doctors, letting everyone in the chain of care know exactly what the patient’s condition is and what treatment they have received.

As always change brings problems. One problem is the lack of central standards for forms so that they can vary from provider to provider. A much larger problem though, is the use of the these forms begins the trend of having the records relate what should have happened from actually is happening.

Last year, Megan McArdle, wrote a series of articles about the unintended problems with EMR’s. One of the most troubling aspects from a patient care standpoint was that the medical providers just “cut and paste” the information from one procedure to the next. In the old system a doctor’s unreadable handwriting was at least unique to each patient. This new system does not allow for the complexity of the patient symptoms as everything has to fit the prefabricated forms.

The attorneys of Vinkler Law have years of experience in dissecting medical records, whether handwritten or electronic. If you suspect that the care received by you or a loved one was negligent contact our office.