Could Patient Photos Reduce Serious Medical Errors?

December 06, 2012

Could patient photos reduce serious medical errors?

A study by researchers at a Colorado hospital found that including photos in patients' electronic medical records helps reduce serious medical mistakes known as "wrong-patient errors." Implementing electronic record systems with photos at hospitals across the country may help improve the national rate of serious medical errors.

Researchers find using a photo drastically reduces number of errors

In 2009, Children's Hospital Colorado found that misplaced orders in electronic files was the second-most common cause of wrong-patient medical errors, accounting for 24 percent of errors where treatment was ordered for the wrong patient.

The problem arose from the complex electronic record system used by the hospital, which allowed doctors to have multiple patients' charts open at once. This made it easy for physicians to mistakenly order a test or treatment for one patient under another patient's name.

The findings prompted the hospital to change its system so doctors had to confirm their orders on an order verification screen that included a photo of the child for which the order was being made. After just one year, only 12 wrong-patient errors occurred due to misplaced order information. After 15 months, no patient with a photo in his or her chart fell victim to a wrong-patient error. In 2011, just three wrong-patient errors occurred, and none of which involved a patient with a photo on file with the hospital.

Children's Hospital Colorado used a digital camera to snap photos of patients upon their admittance to the hospital, a solution it believes is feasible for many health care facilities. While the photos are an inexpensive fix to a serious medical error problem, some parents are reluctant to have their children's photos taken out of privacy concerns.

Another study finds electronic records may increase errors

While computerized physician order-entry systems on electronic records help improve physician workflow and make it easy for physicians to update and share patient information, they also may increase the number of wrong-patient errors doctors make. A study published this July found that while CPOE systems that do not require doctors to verify their orders increase errors, implementing some form of order confirmation can reduce errors.

The study, conducted in 2009 at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, tracked how many times doctors made a "retract and reorder" mistake, where they ordered a test under the wrong patient's name, then caught their errors and corrected them. Over 5,200 of these errors occurred over the course of the study.

However, errors decreased when doctors were asked to reenter order information as a safeguard against errors or click on a link to verify a patient's identification. While the study did not test the efficacy of including a patient photo, the researchers did mention that doing so would probably reduce errors, too.

While electronic health records could help improve health care for patients, they also may put them at risk if safeguards are not worked into software to prevent serious mistakes like wrong-patient errors. If you or a loved one has been injured in a wrong-patient or other medical error, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney.

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