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EHR Alerts Interfering With Healthcare Providers

A recent report focused on how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employs and makes use of electronic health records (EHRs). One major complaint researchers found was that the volume of alerts EHRs provide clinicians are distracting to their daily routines.

EHR alerts apparently provide an overabundance of notices, to the extent medical personnel complained of not being able to attend to other, daily and pressing  messages concerning such topics as patients' test results.

Clinicians report receiving up to 150 alerts a day, which makes their already extremely busy caseload even more difficult to manage. Handling the EHR alerts eats up time clinicians could be using to respond to other alerts and performing patient after-care in a timely manner.

The report did not blame the EHRs for every failure medical personnel made as a result of not responding to patient information. The report evaluated 2,500 abnormal test results alerts and found 18% of the abnormal imaging results alerts and 10% of abnormal laboratory results were never read.

Further, the report detailed how medical personnel failed to fully take advantage of all possible EHR functions. One of these functions allows medical personnel to manage electronic alerts. Clinicians voiced other complaints about the EHR system and how it tracks information deemed relevant. This is not the first time complaints have been made about the system, and it will likely not be the last as the system continues to develop.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veteran's disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.