Using EMR Reduces Your Risk of a Malpractice Claim

According to a study from Harvard University, physicians who use electronic medical records systems may be less likely to be sued. "When providers use electronic records in the outpatient setting, the likelihood of a paid malpractice settlement was about two-thirds as high," said one of the lead authors, David Westfall Bates, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA, and professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study group says their findings "support the hypothesis that EHR adoption and use lead to improved quality of care and patient safety, resulting in fewer adverse events and fewer paid malpractice claims. " In addition, EHRs may result in more extensive and more legible documentation leading to stronger legal defenses when malpractices lawsuits are filed.