A new report from the American Medical Association, Pew Charitable Trusts and MedStar Health outlined how The Joint Commission could help EHRs be safer by inspecting whether organizations are following certain guidelines.
Here are the new guidelines the organizations recommended to be required to ensure EHR safety:
1. Key tasks. Tasks that can affect the safety of EHR systems should be included in test cases.
2. Representative end users. Representative end users should be required to test system usability.
3. Testing in the real world. EHRs should be tested in real-life situations rather than in a laboratory setting.
4. Total product life cycle assessments. EHRs should be tested in various stages of the product's life cycle, including how it might be modified by healthcare facilities.
5. Socio-technical environment. EHRs should undergo certification testing before health systems implement them.
