EHRs linked to lower malpractice.

• Position: E-HEALTH RECORDS - Electronic health records - Brief article

A new study by Harvard researchers suggests that doctors who keep electronic health records (EHRs) have fewer malpractice claims.

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The scientists' findings were summarized in a research letter published in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The findings were based on surveys of 275 physicians in 2005 and 2007. By looking at the physicians' use of EHRs and the number of malpractice suits filed against them, it determined the rate of claims when EHRs were used was about one-sixth the rate of when EHRs were not used.

The researchers noted that since EHRs improve documentation, make patient visits more efficient, reduce medication errors, and generally make it easier for healthcare practitioners to track and manage their patients, it's only logical that this would lead to lower malpractice claims or, at least, make them easier to defend.

Of course, unmeasured factors may also contribute to the reduction in malpractice claims attributed to EHRs. "[P]hysicians who were early adopters of EHRs may exhibit practice patterns that make them less likely...