8.2/9.2: Product Liability

Potential Hazards

This program is being developed with the intention of preventing any potential missuses. The numerous benefits of EHR systems include production of legible records, reduction of the number of lost records, assistance in research activities, allowance for complete sets of backup records at low cost, speedy data transfer and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, EHRs have been shown to improve patient compliance, facilitate quality assurance and reduce medical errors. You can read more about these benefits from this link under the Potential Benefits section:

Despite these major advantages, there is always an area of any product that is susceptible to misuse and hazards. A clear hazard that can be identified is the large potential for human-error, as nurses can haphazardly input information into these SBAR forms and give incorrect information to other nurses during times of pressure or stress. In addition, the potential for hackers to breach the system and access these record is an area of concern for patient confidentiality. And there is potential for those that do not consider HIPAA seriously and export this information through screenshots or copy and paste features. Unfortunately, this is a with on-paper and EHRS, which is currently only prevented through the disciplinary measures used against medical staff when violating HIPAA, such as hefty fines and loss of the license to practice medicine. 

Solutions

In light of these liability concerns, we shall implement a system to ensure nurses have properly entered patient information correctly into the forms by having a review and edit feature before all forms are submitted to allow nursing staff to check their information prior to submitting. This shall encourage nurses to check the information they input into the site and reduce rushed mistakes. Furthermore, we shall have the database of patient information be stored on a dedicated computer machine that will only allow users to access the forms and nothing more. This would not allow users of the computer to export data via emailing or faxing because those functionalities will not be present in the product. The standalone device would also not be connected to the internet and stored only on the machine itself which is vital in terms of security. Internet and USB thumbdrives are a major way that hackers gain access to computers, and eliminating a computer from having access to the internet makes sure there's no way for hackers to infiltrate our system short of showing up to the computer in person and taking it out with them.