When both federal and state government pushed the health care industry to go electronic, physicians and hospitals were given no direction. Some practices moved forward and purchased systems based on very little working knowledge of the product. Others waited and sought suggestions from friends and colleagues.
A particular physician - Dr. Z - spoke to his colleagues and obtained a name of a vendor who would scan patient data into a usable file for the physician group. The vendor was from San Diego and he graciously came to Los Angeles to pick up records for scanning. They negotiated a price and the deal was finalized. The finished product - five boxes of hard copy charts - would be available in two weeks.
Two weeks passed, and the discs were delivered by mail. The office staff was proud of their accomplishment. They began to look at the data and noticed that the chart information was intermingled among the patients, data was missing, and not all the charts were transferred. They immediately called the vendor, who never answered the phone or returned phone calls. The office immediately called the CAP Hotline and sought assistance.
When choosing a vendor, ask all pertinent questions. For instance, history of the vendor, current and past clients, ownership of data, past legal issues, cost, and responsibility for accuracy of data. Always obtain a list of references. Call at least five people who have knowledge of their work. Remember, that any individual can promise you everything orally, but always obtain contents of contract terms in writing.
Authored by
Joseph Wager, MS, RCP
Senior Risk Management & Patient Safety Specialist
If you have questions about this article, please contact us. This information should not be considered legal advice applicable to a specific situation. Legal guidance for individual matters should be obtained from a retained attorney.