Electronic Health Record (EHR) [Healthcare Compliance Tips]

Ask your patients what privacy issues they see, especially regarding the EHR system.

Patients see more than you think.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s poll, 21% of patients said they noticed an error in their individual medical records.

Here is the type of errors they noticed:

• 9 percent: Medical history
• 5 percent: Personal information
• 3 percent: Lab results
• 3 percent: Medication/prescription information
• 1 percent (or less): Billing errors/issues

Since your goal is quality, using patient data such as above will help you get better results and improve your EHR system.  Always try to engage in conversation with the patient about their rights. For example, you can remind them of your practice policies regarding safeguarding their records and the methods you use to correct electronic errors.

Remember, the patient owns the information inside of the medical record, and when mistakes are not corrected this will affect them down the line.   Don’t be afraid to share your open-door policies because your transparency will show the seriousness behind fixing errors created by you or your team.

If you are new to this process or still not comfortable with asking the patient directly, reach out to your colleagues and ask them for help in the form of benchmarking. There is no shame in asking for help because the goal is to rectify mistakes before the patient arrives at the review sites or worse the OIG hotline.

**The opinions and observations from the group/author are not a promise to exempt your practice from fines and penalties.  Research, modify, and tailor the advice to fit your specialty.