How to Make Hospitals Less Deadly
by James B. Lieber, an attorney in Pittsburgh; he is the author of "Killer Care; How Medical Error Became America's Third Largest Cause of Death and What Can Be Done About It" (OR Books, 2015).
Make electronic health records interoperable. Say what you will about the Affordable Care Act, but the worst health-care glitch of the Obama years might have actually involved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The $787 billion "stimulus package" included $36.5 billion to link electronic-health records and make all patient histories, lab results and prescribed medications available in the exam room with a few clicks.
Yet, according to the federal government, only 14% of clinicians share data with doctors beyond their care organizations, impeding diagnosis and jeopardizing treatment. Congress passed legislation last year directing interoperability within four years, but that is too long. Providers and patient advocates should work to lower these firewalls as soon as possible.
Death from medical error won't go away overnight, but embracing this reform will help ensure that doctors first do no harm. Thousands of lives are on the line.