In The News: Patient safety found to be unaffected by switching to electronic health records

NEWSWIRE: July 28, 2016

DATELINE: Massachusetts

As waves of hospitals continue moving from older methods of record keeping to new digital electronic health record systems, some medical professionals are expressing fears that it could have dire results, including more errors and higher patient mortality.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have found these fears largely unfounded after studying a diverse group of U.S. hospitals that implemented new electronic health record systems during 2011 and 2012.  Monetary incentives from the federal government promoting record keeping and better technology have helped electronic health record adoption to accelerate, both in the U.S and abroad.

In a current study, led by Michael Barnett, Assistant Professor at the Harvard Chan School, researchers discovered that even though switching to a new system can be a challenge, hospitals are prepared to handle it safely.  Researchers say this should be very encouraging to doctors, practices, and hospitals that are planning their own implementations.   

Read the full article here.