CMAJ: 10 rights, responsibilities for EHR users
The challenges in the adoption and use of EHRs led authors to pen a list of 10 rights and responsibilities of EHR users that could serve as the foundation on which to build an approach to healthcare in the electronic age. The article was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Despite the electronic health initiatives by governments in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the U.K. and the U.S. over the past decade, clinicians may still be unsure that the benefits of these systems outweigh the time and resources required to maintain and update electronic records, the article stated. To overcome these challenges, two U.S. researchers identified 10 topics that they propose as professional "rights," along with corresponding responsibilities.
"The 10 key issues discussed here form a set of features, functions and user privileges that clinician users require to deliver high-quality, safe and effective care," wrote Dean Sittig, PhD, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, and Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
The 10 rights are:
Each "right" has a coordinating responsibility for users, such as carefully considering computer-generated interventions and maintaining a high level of user proficiency. "Addressing these rights and responsibilities comprehensively will be challenging but can make the care delivered through [an] EHR-based work system safer and more efficient," concluded the authors.
Despite the electronic health initiatives by governments in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the U.K. and the U.S. over the past decade, clinicians may still be unsure that the benefits of these systems outweigh the time and resources required to maintain and update electronic records, the article stated. To overcome these challenges, two U.S. researchers identified 10 topics that they propose as professional "rights," along with corresponding responsibilities.
"The 10 key issues discussed here form a set of features, functions and user privileges that clinician users require to deliver high-quality, safe and effective care," wrote Dean Sittig, PhD, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, and Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
The 10 rights are:
- Uninterrupted access to EHRs
- Ability to view all clinical information relating to their patients
- Succinct summaries of patient health histories, including medical problems, medications, lab results and other information
- Ability to override computer-generated clinical interventions
- Clear, evidence-based rationale for computer-generated clinical alerts or recommendations
- Reliable performance measurement
- Safe EHRs
- Training and assistance in all features of EHRs
- Safe, effective usable EHRs compatible with actual clinical practices
- Electronic systems that support communication and teamwork
Each "right" has a coordinating responsibility for users, such as carefully considering computer-generated interventions and maintaining a high level of user proficiency. "Addressing these rights and responsibilities comprehensively will be challenging but can make the care delivered through [an] EHR-based work system safer and more efficient," concluded the authors.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.