Sharing Clinical NotesPotential Medical-Legal Benefits and Risks

Feb 9, 2022

Patients who identify mistakes in their records could also help prevent medical errors. In a survey of 29656 patients (22% response rate) of whom 18301 had read at least 1 ambulatory note and answered questions on errors, 1 in 5 found an error and 42.3% of the patients perceived the identified errors to be serious.5 The most common errors were related to diagnoses, medical histories, medications, test results, notes on the wrong patient, and notes pertaining to the wrong side of the patients body (left vs right). Under the law, a finding of malpractice liability requires a finding of patient injury. Patients who report errors in their health information could therefore prevent physicians from relying on erroneous data that may lead to poor diagnostic or treatment decisions and legal liability. An analysis of 20 randomized clinical trials related to sharing clinical notes (involved 17387 patients) supports the conclusion that sharing electronic health records could improve patient safety.6

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Sharing Clinical NotesPotential Medical-Legal Benefits and Risks

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