Imagine that your grandmother enters the hospital with stomach pain and has a pre-existing heart condition, arrhythmia. Her medication, propranolol (Inderal), is listed on her chart and she is being treated accordingly. Then, suddenly, her heart races out of control, she has a stroke and dies. A re-examination of her medical chart finds that arrhythmia is no longer listed in her medical history and there is no reference to propranolol. After investigation, it's discovered that there was a glitch in the hospital's electronic health record (EHR) system and it deleted this vital medical information. In essence, this fatal error was caused by computer malpractice.

Computer malpractice can happen as a result of technological glitches, human error and system design defects; it can threaten the quality of patient care and safety, as well as the safety of patients' health data. These types of errors are typically caused by simple human mistakes or computer malfunctions, as opposed to egregious medical negligence. Medical malpractice lawyers need to be aware of the potential for “EHR malpractice” and should familiarize themselves with the potential pitfalls, from software system selection to its implementation and use. Currently, the regulations in place to monitor the accuracy and safety of EHRs, and certifications for system operation and use, are severely lacking.

Hospitals and doctors are adopting EHRs quickly due to pressure from the government. As part of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid incentivize eligible professionals to implement EHRs, and penalize those who do not. For those professionals who do not demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR technology, their Medicare reimbursement will be cut 1 percent each year. This kind of pressure has led to hurried adoption of new systems, and a greater possibility for dangerous errors. Patients are at highest risk for this type of malpractice during the installation and implementation of a new system or the upgrading of an existing system, so if you have a client who has been harmed by an EHR error, check to see how long the system had been in place at the time of the error.