My Dad was recently hospitalized ..he's a very complex medical case, and my mom must stay there 24/7 to watch over him and question every action.
The very first round of pain meds that they were going to give him was on his allergy reaction list. Wouldn't you think that an electronic record would instantly be able to flag this sort of issue as soon as the order is given?
Wouldn’t you think that an electronic record would instantly be able to flag this sort of issue...”
It could, depending on the programming, whether everything had been loaded into the file and on who was responsible for the content of the data. There really needs to be some pretty extensive training, particularly when you want data to be integrated. Older generation docs and nurses are used to looking at a chart and know where to look for information they may need. Erecords are another whole world. Doctors I have spoken with know how to fill in answers to questions on one page but haven’t any understanding of what all happens or should happen to that data, where else it might appear, what it affects or how to update or change it.
Per a friend of mine, although her son did some of the programming for one of the systems, he had no clue about the field of medicine and had to rely on the person who wanted the software designed and hope that they knew what they were talking about. Kind of like looking at the computer rollout of Obamacare except that in a hospital what is in that chart may mean life or Code Blue for an individual.
I hope your dad is ok and back with his family.
My sister is an RN and the stories she has told us about hospitals are enough to curl your hair. The stories underscore the old (black humor) “joke” - What do you call the person who graduates from medical school with a C average?
Doctor!
Good luck and God bless.