by A recent study conducted by a team of researchers at UCLA has uncovered a significant problem with electronic health records (EHRs) in California. The study found that approximately 20% of patients listed as alive in their EHRs were actually deceased, leading to hundreds of unnecessary interactions and wasting valuable resources.
The data gap stems from California law, which restricts the full death data from being accessed by health care organizations unless it is for law enforcement purposes or fraud prevention. Even a real-time death database maintained by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Services is unavailable to health organizations. This limitation has resulted in a major discrepancy between the information available in EHRs and the actual status of patients.
The UCLA research team tracked 11,698 seriously ill patients across 41 UCLA Health clinics over two years. They compared the patients’ status as noted in their EHRs against the data in the California Department of Public Health Public Use Death File. This file contains basic information such as name, sex, and birthdate but does not include the social security number, which is only available for fraud prevention purposes.
The findings of the study were alarming. Of the tracked patients, 2,920 were correctly noted as deceased in their health records. However, an additional 676 patients who were believed to be alive based on their records were actually deceased according to the California data. This discrepancy in patient status has resulted in numerous unnecessary interactions, such as appointment reminders, prescription refills, and other outreach efforts, which strain resources and waste valuable time for healthcare workers.
Dr. Neil Wenger, the lead author of the study, highlighted that this is a problem that can easily be solved. The state has a database that can identify most of the patients who have passed away, but current laws prevent it from being shared with healthcare institutions. Dr. Wenger hopes that raising awareness about this issue will prompt the necessary changes to address this problem.
The inaccuracies in EHRs have far-reaching implications. Not knowing which patients are deceased hinders efficient health management, billing, advanced illness interventions, and measurement. It also impedes the health system’s ability to learn from adverse outcomes, implement quality improvement measures, and provide support for families.
While the study focused on California, the researchers note that similar issues may exist in other states and healthcare systems. The findings underscore the need for improved data sharing practices and a standardized approach to maintaining accurate EHRs. By addressing this issue, healthcare organizations can ensure more efficient and effective patient care while reducing unnecessary strain on resources.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
