patient safety

Challenges in patient safety improvement research in the era of electronic health records

In this paper, we use a case study involving a project on missed/delayed follow-up of test results to discuss real-world challenges in using EHR data for patient safety research. We identify three types of challenges that pose as barriers to advance patient safety improvement research, and discuss the complexity of these challenges, all of which are unlikely to be unique to this project, and outline some key next steps that must be taken to support research that uses EHR data to improve safety.

SAFER EHRs: A Video Introduction to the SAFER Guides

A short video created by Westat for the ONC that describes the SAFER Guides which are designed to help healthcare organizations conduct self-assessments to optimize the safety and safe use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the following areas: High Priority Practices, Organizational Responsibilities, Contingency Planning, System Configuration, System Interfaces, Patient Identification, […]

Webinar: ISQua on “Making Health Information Technology SAFER”

Here is a link to a webinar presented to the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua). The webinar provides an introduction and overview of the USA’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) sponsored SAFER Guides (Safety Assurance Factors for Electronic Health Record Resilience) project presented by Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH and Dean F. Sittig, PhD.

Click Here to view the webinar.

Arthur Allen in Politico Morning eHealth: Software Act Could Create Safety Problems

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association finds that the laboratory graphs displayed by many commercial electronic health records present information in potentially dangerous ways and could create serious safety problems. The authors urged ONC to stringently oversee testing of the software. Read the complete article: […]

The SAFER guides: empowering organizations to improve the safety and effectiveness of electronic health records

With support from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), we used a rigorous, iterative process to develop a set of 9 self-assessment tools to optimize the safety and safe use of EHRs. These tools, referred to as the Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) guides, could be used to self-assess safety and effectiveness of EHR implementations, identify specific areas of vulnerability, and create solutions and culture change to mitigate risks.

SAFER Electronic Health Records: Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience

SAFER Electronic Health Records: Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience Electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to improve the quality and safety of health care. Since the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), organizations are adopting EHRs at an unprecedented rate. While […]