The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology recently released updated SAFER Guides to help health care organizations assess and optimize the safe use of electronic health records (EHRs).
The updated guides cover the following areas.
- High-priority practices,
- Organizational responsibilities,
- Contingency planning,
- System configuration,
- System interfaces,
- Patient identification,
- Computerized provider order entry with decision support,
- Test results reporting and follow-up, and
- Clinician communication.
While some physicians may not have full control over EHR configuration, it is worth scanning the guides for best practices you can implement. The guides can be used to assess risks within a practice, and each guide contains 10 to 25 recommendations for mitigating or minimizing EHR-related safety hazards.
One of the coauthors of the SAFER Guides is Hardeep Singh, MD, a member of TMA and the Harris County Medical Society.
In addition to the downloadable version, the content of each SAFER Guide, with interactive references and supporting materials, can be viewed on ONC's website.
Review the entire ONC Health IT Playbook to learn how all team members can work together to make health information technology work for the practice.
For further questions on health information technology, contact the TMA HIT Helpline at (800) 880-5720 or by email.
Action, April 17, 2017
Last Updated On
April 17, 2017
Originally Published On
April 12, 2017