New National Electronic Health Record Safety System Launched

A new electronic health record (EHR) safety reporting system was announced yesterday by the iHealth Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit organization composed of medical society and professional liability carrier executives in collaboration with federal agencies and PDR Network. EHRevent.org establishes a national system where physicians and other health care providers can report issues related to the implementation and use of EHRs.

Using a standardized online format, EHRevent will collect reports from physicians and other health care providers who use EHRs and create reports that medical societies, professional liability carriers and government agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will use to help educate providers on the potential challenges that EHR systems may bring. The system will be available directly via the Internet and also integrated into the web sites of participating liability carriers, medical societies, PDR Network and other partners, including EHR system vendors.

EHRevent was modeled after other national reporting systems, including the system used in the aviation industry, and its reports include issues related to software problems, inadequate user training, security breaches and near-misses. Reports will be confidential but used to better understand challenges associated with the adoption and implementation of EHRs and to improve patient safety.