Should we join CurrentCare?
My answer - yes, absolutely. I created this topic for discussion after reading a comment by Dr. Concannon in another discussion. It is possible that I am taking his point out of context, and I welcome feedback by Dr. Concannon, but I think it brings up an excellent point for discussion. "The only solution is legislative action that will give some legal protections for our side in the event of an inadvertent or malicious data breach. We really shouldn’t be all that cooperative in HIE efforts such as CurrentCare until we gain those protections."
I disagree with Dr. Concannon's suggestion as quoted above. We need all sorts of protective legistlation and tort reform, but I do not see how participating in CurrentCare increases your liability in any way. Your liability lies within your house, your systems, your oversight (and trust) of staff within your practice, and your security to keep hackers out. I welcome input from CurrentCare admin (RIQI basically), but my impression is that joining CurrentCare is not a liability to the participating providers.
I expect that RIQI lawyers were an integral part of the development of CurrentCare. Maybe we can get some guidance from RIQI regarding this issue. Is there provider liability regarding breaches that might occur on the CurrentCare site? I'm not asking if a provider can be sued, the question is whether or not there is reasonable expectation of any liability.
Using an EHR? Yes - eClinicalWorks
Disclosure: Owner/practicing partner of Aquidneck Medical Associates, Inc. Contracted as the Case Management Physician Advisor at Newport Hospital (a Lifespan affiliate) and as an advisor for BCBS of RI to help facilitate HIT integration in community practices
Let me explain where I am coming from. My thoughts on this subject are derived from reading HIT news and forums from diverse sources. One of my favorites is California HealthCare Foundation’s iHealthBeat which users can sign up for at http://www.ihealthbeat.org/. One can even get an HIT digest directly from this DocEHRTalk website at http://www.docehrtalk.org/knowledge-center/in-the-news . I also keep up to date by using IT RSS feeds such as Ziff-Davis and others.
If one reads these news sources on a regular basis, as I pretend to do, a distinct pattern that most would find alarming has lately emerged from governmental and political circles that demand both increased patient privacy protection and provider accountability for health IT breaches. Out of one side of their mouths politicians and bureaucrats are demanding increased access to patient health information, while out the other side they are yelling to protect patient privacy. We, the physicians, get caught in the middle of this squeeze and are being targeted as the goat in the event anything bad happens. It seems few people are looking out for our protection.
Using an EHR? Yes