In a closed claim study of Electronic Health Records (EHR), The Doctors Company found that the number of EHR claims rose from 2 in 2007 to over 66 between July 2014 and December 2016. The study also found that 50% of the claims were caused by 'system factors' (such as "failure of drug or clinical decision support alerts") and 58% of claims were caused by 'user factors' (such as "copying and pasting progress notes").

The study also found that there was an increase in the the number of EHR claims occurring in patient rooms, and fewer that occurred in clinic or doctor's offices. The study also showed that diagnosis related allegations were the most common (32%). 

If you would like to read the study, visit:  http://www.thedoctors.com/ecm/groups/public/documents/print_pdf/con_id_013553.pdf 

Information used with permission

It was a short 228 years ago that George Washington delivered his infamous Thanksgiving proclamation and designated November 26th, 1789 as "a day of public thanksgiving . . ."   This, the first of presidential proclamations, was artfully recommended to the people of the United States.  While it was not implemented with the force of law this quintessentially American tradition has lived on for over two centuries.

We at TriMountain Corp wish you, your families and friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

Breaches of Protected Health Information (PHI) have been in the news a lot lately. In a recent report by Beazley (a specialty risk insurance company), it shows that 41% of data breaches are the restult of unintended disclosure (human error). 

Human Error is almost twice the level of the second highest cause of loss, which is from a 'hack or malware' (19%). 

The third highest cause of loss is when employees snoop in patients files without permission or a work reason (15%), which again show the need for increased training and contols. 

According to the study the average settlements for PHI breaches increased to $1.8M in 2016-17, compared to $1M in 2014-15. 

For more information, check out the Beazely Study: https://www.beazley.com/documents/TMB/Insights/201710-beazley-breach-insight-healthcare.pdf