Staffed by some of the best clinical professionals in the entire world, the US healthcare system is, unfortunately, still plagued by medical errors. A 2016 study by Johns Hopkins showed there were more than 250,000 deaths attributed to medical error per year over an 8-year period, nearly 10% of all deaths, earning it third place on the list of leading causes of death. In addition to this unacceptable loss of life, these errors also take a toll on the economy, costing the country approximately $20 billion ever year.

The most common types of medical error include:

1. Diagnosis issues: Failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis or incorrect diagnosis.
2. Failure to order appropriate tests: Failing to order the correct tests to address abnormal results or all of the available clinical information.
3. Communication problems: Failure to communicate, failure to review the medical record, poor professional rapport between providers or not using interpreters to communicate with patients/family members when appropriate.

The shift towards digital care and telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic came with its own set of possible medical errors. These are most likely to be administrative errors caused by the lack of interoperability between electronic health records and other systems used by providers. Problems arise when the system is unable to integrate information from the systems of all providers that treat a patient. A single patient will commonly see many providers over the course of dealing even with a single illness – primary care provider, emergency room, outpatient – and it is highly likely that most of these providers will be using disparate systems that are incapable of properly communicating with one another.

Simply having access to all of the data is not the only problem. Even providers’ notes, diagnostic results , patient vitals, histories and insurance information being available online doesn’t mean it is all easily accessible. Providers are forced to switch between systems and applications to get a complete picture of the patients’ situation, and many will often forego collecting all of the information to avoid the hassle.

Using EHRs to eliminate errors

Electronic health records (EHRs) are an essential tool for managing and operating a medical practice in the modern age. They possess the ability to deliver a truly personalized experience based on the situation of each individual patient, integrating all available information on a specific case to help providers provide the best care. In addition, EHRs can help practices to streamline their revenue cycle by maximizing resources, lowering error rates, and increasing efficiency. By integrating EHRs with the industry’s most popular and affordable cloud-based medical billing services small practices can have an end-to-end practice management solution

Here are 7 ways EHRs can help eliminate medical errors:

1. Voice Recognition: With growing customer acceptance and the maturation of AI and machine learning, voice recognition has started to assume a greater role in our daily lives. One needs only look at recognized digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri to understand how wildly popular these have gotten. The same technology holds great potential for the healthcare field. Voice to text conversion to simplify the process of taking notes, allowing providers to get back to their patients more quickly is just one example of how voice recognition in EHR software can transform our approach to healthcare.
2. Mobile Integration: 2020 saw a 20% increase in development of apps that integrate directly with electronic health records. Smart phones are ubiquitous and usage of tablets is on the rise among clinical professionals in the office. A growing number of EHR vendors have also begun offering their own software in app form to improve convenience and usability. The ability to access patient information on your phone will improve providers’ ability to stay on top of the case with the latest information.
3. Filtering: Clinicians don’t always need all the information about a case. Less is more, as they say, and the same holds true here. The ability to filter information increases efficiency by allowing providers to focus only on the information that is pertinent to the situation at hand.
4. Learning: Advancements in AI and machine learning have brought us to a point where the technology is ready to play an active role in healthcare by assisting providers. HERs with integrated AI will be able to observe patterns in how providers take notes or structure certain data fields, and learn when to implement these changes automatically. AI-assisted billing involves using an AI to scour medical notes in order to provide the correct codes for the visit.
5. Patient Access: While compliance to all of the rules introduced to this effect has been slow, there has been a federal push towards providing patients greater access and transparency to their own healthcare information. This transparency includes greater access to personal health information stored within EHR systems, so that patients may freely share it with whomever they choose. As such, EHRs capable of providing patients secure access to this information, along with online scheduling options and direct access to physicians, will help ensure practices remain in compliance of all existing and future transparency laws.

EHRs with features outlined above will not entirely eliminate all errors; mistakes are an unavoidable part of life. But these 5 features can help practices as they begin the process of eliminating medical errors from their workflows to streamline operations and increase revenues.