Rhode Island docs alarmed by subpoenas they link to EHRs

In recent days, process servers have delivered subpoenas charging doctors at a Rhode Island hospital with medical misconduct — mistakes reported by the clinicians themselves that didn’t injure any patients but were meant to draw attention to risks in their EHR system.

The episode has upset the doctors and their colleagues, who say the state health department’s punitive response could frustrate voluntary reporting of medical errors, reportedly the third leading cause of death in the United States. EHR safety researchers concur, saying that penalizing doctors for self-reported mistakes like this sends the wrong message.

“Anyone punishing individual providers for these events is punishing the wrong thing,” says Jason Adelman, chief patient safety officer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. “These are system issues, not the provider being reckless. The focus should be on things like EHR usability and safety.”

The full Politico article can be viewed at this link.