Data entry & EHRs: Best practices for your staff

Almost every hospital uses an electronic health record (EHR) system, and often they can help reduce medical record errors and streamline data entry. However, a new study shows there are various issues that might crop up when entering data into EHRs.

It’s easy for providers and other staff members at your facility to succumb to the pressures of efficiency while using your EHR. With so many patients and so little time, taking shortcuts is inevitable and understandable. But the little mistakes that happen when trying to be fast can cause big problems.

“a study in the Journal of Patient Safety, reveals that health IT-related mistakes can cause adverse patient effects of moderate-to-high severity.

Reminding your staff members to stay vigilant when keying in data can help, but there are other ways to ensure minor mistakes don’t cause trouble for patients and staff.when organizations were upgrading their EHRs, switching vendors or otherwise changing their systems. Make sure your staff members know when changes are coming and what those changes will be, and train them thoroughly on any new systems.