Patient Photos Could Help Reduce Medical Errors

Putting a patient's photo in his or her electronic medical record (EMR) could help reduce medical errors, according to a new study.

In 2009, modifications were made at Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora, USA) and the University of Colorado School of Medicine (Aurora, USA) to generate an order verification screen each time a test or treatment was ordered, as a strategy for reducing the risk that providers will place orders in an unintended patient’s EMR. The verification screen displayed a photo of the patient taken at the time of admission. The impact of the modification was measured by comparing the number of reported incidents of care being provided to any patient other than for whom it was intended before the intervention, and directly after the intervention.

The results showed that the number of incidents in which a patient received care intended for another patient fell from 12 cases in 2010 to three cases after the hospital implemented the verification screens in 2011; in all three of those cases, a photo was not included in the patient's EMR. The number of "near-miss" incidents, in which a treatment or test was ordered for the wrong patient but another staff member caught the error, fell from 33 cases in 2010 to 10 cases in 2011. In just one of the 10 cases, a photo was included in the patient's EMR. The study was published on June 4, 2012, in Pediatrics.

“The incorporation of patient pictures within a computerized order entry verification process is an effective strategy for reducing the risk that erroneous placement of orders in a patient’s EMR will result in unintended care being provided to an incorrect patient,” concluded lead author Daniel Hyman, MD, MMM, chief quality officer at Children's Hospital Colorado. “I do think it's the photos that made the difference.”

Related Links:
Children’s Hospital Colorado
University of Colorado School of Medicine