When Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital failed to diagnose the first known case of Ebola in the U.S., the hospital initially blamed its electronic health record. It turns out that a lack of communication among humans was to blame—not software. In a blog post, Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D, says that the hospital’s reflex was revealing. Electronic health records have become a tempting target to blame for a host of problems as hospitals and physicians struggle not only with the many crises facing our health system, but also with the sometimes disruptive solutions being implemented to address them.
Electronic Health Records: The New Lightning Rod in Health Care
