David Blumenthal, MD, head of ONC, was on hand last week to help announce the launch of EHRevent.org, a safety reporting system that will let healthcare providers report problems in the implementation and use of EHRs. It will serve as a tracking system so the industry can identify trends and react quickly.
The fact that Blumenthal was there shows that the federal government is serious about putting into place or promoting processes and systems that ensure the user-friendliness and safety of EHRs.
EHRevent.org is being run by iHealth Alliance, a not-for-profit comprising medical society and professional liability carrier executives partnered with federal agencies and PDR Network, which is hosting the safety reporting system.
The way the system is set up favors physicians, and that should eliminate some of the apprehension and skepticism still out there. Why? Being able to report trouble spots to an independent party should empower them. It should be of comfort to know that their problems with their EHRs aren't staying in their offices. If should be of comfort to know that others who are in a position to do something about these problems will be monitoring the events being reported.
This reporting system isn’t about pointing fingers, either. It's about making sure that if there are trends in technology glitches or workflow processes they need to be fixed as soon as possible.
After all, if multi-stakeholders work together to create safe, user-friendly technologies and processes with the implementation and meaningful use of EHRs, the public trust will rise, as well as the physician trust. True or false?
