Electronic health records (EHRs) were supposed to make health care safer, but copy-and-paste functionality has created new opportunities for medical errors. People are increasingly harmed when doctors and nurses rely on outdated information instead of conducting proper current assessments.
The sharp legal team at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group helps patients hold negligent medical professionals accountable for electronic health record errors. Failure to record accurate information may be grounds for a medical malpractice claim under Texas law.
Understanding Electronic Health Record Errors
EHRs were designed to improve patient care by making medical information easily accessible to health care teams. However, providers sometimes transfer information from previous visits without conducting thorough new examinations.
For example, a cardiologist might copy chest pain symptoms from six months ago, failing to notice that the current complaint involves back pain. This error could delay proper diagnosis while the doctor treats the wrong symptoms.
The Journal of Medicine reports that “copying and pasting the same note repeatedly makes you look clinically inattentive, even if the copy/pasted material is unrelated to the adverse event.”
Some medical professionals also use template responses that don't accurately reflect a patient's current condition. These shortcuts save time but often result in medical records that bear little resemblance to what actually happened during an appointment.
Regulatory bodies have noticed these issues. The Joint Commission has cited hospitals for copy-and-paste errors, and state medical boards have disciplined doctors whose reliance on outdated records led to patient harm.
Common EHR-Related Medical Errors
Copy-and-paste functionality creates specific patterns of mistakes that can seriously harm patients. These EHR errors fall into three main categories that our Texas medical malpractice attorneys frequently encounter in litigation.
Documentation Inaccuracies
- Outdated information. Copying previous notes without updating them causes critical changes in a patient's condition to be missed. Patient medication allergies might be omitted, or new symptoms could be overlooked because the provider relied on old information.
- Template misuse. Medical professionals use standardized responses that don't reflect the patient's actual condition during the current visit.
Medication Mistakes
- Drug interaction problems. Patients might have stopped taking a particular medication months ago, but if this change wasn't properly documented, they could experience dangerous drug interactions. These mistakes may also result in serious side effects or prevent patients from receiving medications they actually need.
- Allergy oversight. Copy-and-paste errors omit critical information that leads to prescriptions that could cause severe reactions.
Diagnostic Delays
- Wrong treatment focus. When providers assume that copied symptoms reflect a patient's current condition, they may pursue the wrong treatment path. For example, someone experiencing new neurological symptoms might be treated for an old back injury because the provider didn't update the assessment.
- Communication breakdowns. Specialists might base their treatment recommendations on incorrect data, leading to fragmented care that doesn't address a patient's actual medical needs.
Legal Consequences for Health Care Providers
Texas medical malpractice law holds health care providers accountable when EHR errors cause patient harm. Doctors, nurses, and hospitals have a duty to maintain accurate medical records and provide care that meets accepted medical standards. Proving medical malpractice requires demonstrating that these professionals failed to uphold this standard of care.
Disciplinary actions by state medical boards have increased as these errors become more common. Health care providers have faced license suspensions, fines, and mandatory training requirements when their reliance on copy-and-paste functionality resulted in patient injuries.
Hospital systems also face liability when their electronic health record policies and training programs fail to prevent dangerous documentation errors. Facilities that don't adequately monitor copy-and-paste practices may be held responsible for the resulting patient harm.
How Our Texas Medical Malpractice Lawyers Protect Your Rights After EHR-Related Errors
Patients who suspect that EHR inaccuracies contributed to their treatment problems should start the claim process by requesting copies of their complete medical records. These documents reveal patterns of copied information that don't accurately reflect the patient's actual condition or treatment.
Our team then thoroughly investigates the possibility of EHR errors. These cases require careful analysis of the records, as well as expert testimony about proper documentation standards and uncovering evidence that these mistakes directly caused you or your loved one harm.
Electronic health record systems may be here to stay, but this doesn't mean we should accept substandard care from health care providers. The former insurance company defense attorneys at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group are ready to take on powerful hospitals and medical groups on your behalf. But don’t delay building a path toward accountability and recovery—Texas has a strict statute of limitations regarding the amount of time you have to file a medical malpractice claim.