Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

Sarah L. Niese
Human Resource Management (OB)
Instructor: Eboni Hill
April 22 2016

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

As we have all noticed, going to the doctors office is a little different than it was
a few years ago. Doctors and nurses are all using computers day in and day out as they
take notes and chart on their patients. Every bit of information they take on a patient is
entered into the computer where it is stored forever to better care for patients through the
course of that patients life. Many computer systems link to each other so when a patient
goes to see their doctor, the doctor is able retrieve any medical history that has already
been documented. This process has been started in hopes of better care for patients, and
to help make a healthcare professions job more efficient. The question has come up, is
this system really safe?
ElectronicMedicalRecords(EMR)hasbeenanopportunityforbetterpatientcare
andeasieraccesstopatientcharts.Althoughtheelectronicrecordsystemseemstobea
greatopportunityforbetterpatientcare,manypatientsquestionwhetherornottheir
informationissafefromhackers,orevendocumentedcorrectly.HealthInsurance
PortabilityandAccountabilityAct(HIPAA)wassetinplacetoensurepatientprivacyas
wellassecurity.Thefederallawmandatesallhospitals,doctors,andanyotherhealthcare
providertonotifyanybreachofhealthinformation(Rodriguez,2011).
Many ask the question is Electronic Medical Records actually safe, as well as, is it
cost affective or will this increase my medical bills? The problem is these are difficult
questions to answer because before EMR doctors may have been under billing or
fraudulently billing patients. Medicare may be to blame for this because it had created a
system that bills for the level of service given to the patient, and has little relevance to the
actual care the patient needs or how the doctor provides care. Now with EMR, Medicare

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

is surprised with the incentives they have, doctors are encouraged to take advantage of
the electronic medical record system to maximize their revenues (Friday, K. 2012).
Meaning now with EMR doctors are able to chart that they spend a certain amount of
time in a patients room, and that they assessed all aspects of the patients whether they did
or not. Before electronic charting, doctors had to hand write everything so only the
pertinent information was documented and they didnt have time to hand write extra
information about that patient that they didnt do. Many see a problem with electronic
charting because now when the patient tells the doctor their chief complaint, the doctor
will make a few clicks to pick different words that come close to how the patient
describes their symptoms and an automated prewritten paragraph will appear in the
patients chart (Friday, K. 2012).
Backwhenpatientschartsexistedasafolderandpaper,muchtimewasspent
lookingformisplacedchartsanddistinguishingthehandwritingofeachphysician.Itwas
easythentobelievewhateverthephysicianwrotedownwastrue,becausetheyspentthe
timetoactuallysitthereandphysicallywriteitdown.Intodayssocietywithelectronic
records,itsaseasyasaclickhereandaclicktheretofillinanentirenormalphysical
examonapatient.Thereisalsothecopyandpastetrickthattempsphysicianstouse,
anditworksbycopingpatientinformationfromapreviousdayandpastingitontothat
daysexam.Insurancecompaniespaythephysicianbytheamountofinformationonthe
patientschart,notbytheamountoftimespentintheroomwiththepatient.Thesadpart
aboutthisiswehavephysiciansouttherewhoaremoreconcernedabouttheamountof
moneytheymakeandnotnecessarilyhowwellthepatientisfeeling(Horwitz,L.2012).

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

MeaningfulUseStage3(MU3)wasimposedbythefederalgovernmentviathe
HITECHActof2009(Graham,2015).Thisstimulusactusedalmost$30billionto
makehealthcarefacilitiesandphysiciansconverttoElectronicHealthRecords(EHR).
ThisprovidedaverylargeinfluxtothecompaniessellingtheElectronicHealthRecords
programs.TwoverylargecompaniessellingpublicEHRareCernerandathenahealth,
whichhaveincreasedtheirpricesovertheNASDAQIndex(Graham,2015).
OneofthelargestElectronicHealthRecordsystemsoutthereistheEpicsystem,
whichmanyofthelargesthospitalsuse.Epicaswellasseveralothersystemsrequires
theirbuyerstosignanondisparagementagreement,whichmakesitlegallyforbiddenfor
thecompaniesthatbuythemtocriticizetheEHRsysteminanyway.Theyarenoteven
allowedtopublishscreenshotsofthesoftwareonhowtouseit(Husten,L.2015).A
majorproblemwiththisiswhentrainingusersonEpic,thehospitalisntevenallowedto
shareimagesofhowthesystemworks,orcriticizeitinanyway.BobWachterisa
leadingphysicianatUCSF,whowroteaboutanincidentwhereayoungpatientalmost
diedafterreceivinganextremelylargedoseofanantibiotic.Thishappenedbecauseof
thepoorinterfacinganddesigningofEpic.InorderforBobWachtertoshare
screenshotstotellthisstory,hehadtogainpermissionfromtheCEOofEpic(Husten,L.
2015).
AnothersecrettotheElectronicHealthRecordsystemthatisnttoldiswhatthe
actualuseofEHRisreallyfor.Theprimarygoalwastoensuremaximum
reimbursementtohealthcareproviders,aswellastoprovidedatatotheupper
managementinordertomanagetheirsystemandemployees.Thesesystemswerenot

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

createdbyhealthcareprovidersorforhealthcareproviders,butinsteadtheywerecreated
fortopendexecutivestomanagetheirextremelylargeandcomplicatedsystems(Husten,
L.2015).
Severalphysiciansgavetheirinputofwhattheyfeltwouldmakeforabetter
systemforelectronichealthrecords.Onephysicianhighlightedthedangersofthe
shortcutsthathavebeencreatedtomakeformoreefficientworkforthephysicians.
Simplycopyandpastinginformationfromoneareaofapatientscharttoanothercan
saveagreatdealoftimeforaphysicians.Butoftentimesheisfindingconflictingdata
enteredintoapatientschart.Thisisleadingtodangeroustreatmentstoourpatients.
Thiscancompromiseapatientstreatmentandpossiblylengthentheirstayatahospital
orputtheirlivesinjeopardy.Oneotherauthorinthisarticletalkedabouthowaddingthe
patientssignaturetotheendoftheirchartwillensurethephysicianisdocumentingthe
correctinformationandhasgoneovertheinformationwiththepatient.Thiswilladd
morestepstoaphysiciansworkflow,butwillhelptoensurepatientsafetyandprevent
falsedocumentation(Pradhan,M.2012).
Inthelastthreeyears,thehealthcareindustryhasbeenthemostcommonareafor
informationbreachesaccordingtotheIdentityTheftResourceCenter.Manypeopledo
notrealizetheamountofinformationhackerscangetfrompatientsmedicalrecords.
InformationsuchasSocialSecuritynumbers,contactinformationandinsurance
identificationnumbers,alsosecurityquestionsrevealingmothermaidenname,fathers
lastname,yourbirthday,whereyouwenttoschool,andmany,manyotherpersonal
questionssuchasthose.Whenhealthinformationisstolen,itcantakeseveralthousands

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

ofdollarstoresolvetheproblem,whereaswithstolencreditcards,amaximumlegal
liabilityisonly50dollars(WashingtonPost,2016).
Medicalidentitytheftwasupabout20percentbetween2013and2014,andlast
yearabout2.3millionAmericanswerevictims(WashingtonPost,2016).Thereare
severalstepsthatcanbetakentoensureinformationisprotectedandapersonstayssafe.
Nevergivepersonalinformationoverthephone,individualscanreceivephonecallsfrom
peoplewhoarefalselyidentifyingthemselvesandareabletocollectasmuchinformation
asapersoniswillingtogiveoverthephone.Beselectiveofwhatinformationyougive
tothedoctorsofficesorhospitals,andalsobeselectiveastowhatemailsyouopenup
andrespondto.Besurethatanyemailsthatarebeingsentbetweenyouandthedoctor
arethroughasecurewebportal.Alsobeawarethatanythingthatissearchedontheweb
canbetracked;becarefulastowhatinformationgoesintomobileapps,healthrelated
chatroomsorwebsites(WashingtonPost,2016).
Conclusion
Inconclusion,ElectronicMedicalRecordsystemscanbeveryaffectiveand
efficientwhenusedproperly.Overtime,Ibelievemanyoftheseflawsinthesystemwill
beworkedoutandhandledproperly.Thiswasanextremelylargestepformany
healthcarefacilitiesaswellastheiremployeesusingthesystem.Theusersaswellasthe
manufacturesofthesesystemswillneedtocontinuetoworktogethertodealwithissues
thatarise.InLauraDiassbookHumanResourceManagement,shetalksaboutseveral
differentwaysthatHumanResourcesneedstobeinvolvedinordertomaketheir
companiesrunsmoothingandaffectively.Ibelievethateachhealthcaresystemneedsto

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

haveaverywellthoughtoutstrategicplaninorderforthetransitionfrompaperchartsto
electronicrecordsrunsmoothly.Acomprehensivestrategicplanwouldcutdownon
severalworkplacestressorsandmakeforamuchsmoothertransitionforeveryone
involved(Dias,2011).

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

References
Dias, L. (2011). Human Resource Management. Sailor.org/books
Friday, K. (2012, September 26). The Cost of Electronic Medical Records. The NewYork
Times.RetrievedMarch14,2016,from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/opinion/thecostofelectronicmedical
records.html?_r=0
Graham,J.(2015,September30).Cancel,Don'tDelay,MeaningfulUseStage3For
ElectronicHealthRecords.RetrievedMarch15,2016,from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2015/09/30/canceldontdelay
meaningfulusestage3forelectronichealthrecords/#5dc293fb472e
Hackerscanprofitgreatlybystealingyourhealthdata.Areyouprotected?(n.d.).
RetrievedMarch15,2016,from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/healthscience/hackerscanprofit
greatlybystealingyourhealthdataareyouprotected/2015/11/09/e1f126f6
518111e5933e7d06c647a395_story.html
Horwitz,L.(2012,November22).AShortcuttoWastedTime.TheNewYorkTimes.
RetrievedMarch15,2016,from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/opinion/shortcutsinmedical
documentation.html
Husten,L.(2015,April12).TwoDirtyLittleSecretsAboutElectronicHealthRecords.
RetrievedMarch15,2016,from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2015/04/12/twodirtylittlesecrets
aboutelectronichealthrecords/#7012b7cf35e2

Running head: Electronic Medical Records, Is It Safe?

Pradhan,M.,Berkowitz,L.,Bacon,D.,Cohen,M.P.,Novick,D.M.,&Lombardi,G.
(2012,December2).UneasyAboutOnlineMedicalRecords.TheNewYork
Times,A28.LetterstotheEditorRetrievedMarch15,2016from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/opinion/uneasyaboutonlinemedical
records.html
Rodriguez,L.(2011,Dec.12).Privacy,Security,andElectronicHealthRecords.
Retrievedfrom:https://www.healthit.gov/buzzblog/privacyandsecurityof
ehrs/privacysecurityelectronichealthrecords/