Common mistakes
Attempts by doctors to enter incorrect information to try to hide mis-
takes are well documented, but medical malpractice claims have also
been the result of such minor and unintended data-entry mistakes as a
typo or glitch in the software. Some of the most common EHR and doc-
umentation errors to watch for include:
• Data-entry mistakes, such as unintended typos or inadvertent dele-
tions.
• Copy-and paste-errors, such as cutting and pasting from one EHR
to another, or copying and pasting multiple times in the same EHR.
• Use of templates without subsequently verifying that the entered
data is accurate. In other words, the software auto-populates informa-
tion into the EHR and nobody confirms that it fairly describes the sur-
gery.
• Data-entry errors by scribes who are not property trained to input
data into the EHR.
• Failure of physician to carefully review the EHR.
• Errors caused by software updates.
• Errors caused by incompatibility between different EHR systems.
• Failures of the EHR software that results in loss of data that was
not otherwise saved or backed up.
Intentional or negligent?
How the clinician entered the error into the record is especially
important. The provider's intent separates an intentional tort from a
negligence case. In an intentional tort malpractice case, the patient
would need to show that the provider acted deliberately to cause the
patient harm (for example, knowingly falsified records). Criminal
charges are likely in these cases, and the damages in a civil suit for an
intentional tort are typically higher compared to damages in a civil
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