Electronic health records vendor eClinical Works has taken the extraordinary step of issuing a reminder to its users about “potential patient safety risks” in its software.
“We periodically identify potential patient safety risks related to the use of our software,” the Westborough, Massachusetts-based vendor said in a statement dated Dec. 6 but not widely disseminated until now.
“As part of our ongoing effort to respond to and minimize such risks, eCW is making this announcement to ensure that all participants in the healthcare process – clinicians, pharmacies, and patients and their family members or caregivers – are aware of key patient safety risks and are focused on the roles they can play in minimizing those risks,” the statement continued.
This alert focused on medication management, e-prescribing and order entry, which eClinicalWorks said were “among the most complex functions performed by any EHR system.”
The vendor urged practices to be vigilant, but also said patients have a role to play — as if consumers were going to read an EHR vendor’s safety notice. According to eClinicalWorks:
Patients and their family members or caregivers should adopt the following safeguards:
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Be educated about your care: Ask your physician to give you or your caregiver access to eCW’s online patient portal, where you can review your visit summaries, medication orders and tests.
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Know your medications and orders: Be aware of the prescription medications (including names, dosages, and delivery methods) and the clinical, diagnostic, or other evaluative tests that have been ordered by your physician.
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Be sure to confirm accuracy: Confirm that the correct medication has been dispensed by your pharmacist and that tests are performed as ordered.
The company also advised people to report EHR-related safety issues to eClinicalWorks or to the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. which maintains a complaint page at www.healthit.gov/healthitcomplaints.
An eClinicalWorks media representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what prompted the safety alert.
