The intent:
To prompt open thoughtful and logical conversation about patient’s medical record, and how the credibility of these legal documents impacts not only the patient and their family, but the larger medical community.
Backdrop:
It is all too obvious current medical system has lost its way and now runs on the corporate business model, demanding 17% of the GNP, while wasting more money than the Pentagon budget and producing the number three cause of preventable death, and the number one cause of personal bankruptcy. After a patient is harmed, providers are said to feel a profound sense of guilt, as well as fear legal action. This paper explores concerns that responses to these fears have set the stage for the impending health system tsunami “Class action EHR metadata credibility audit”.
Foundation:
- 2010 Center for Disease Control study of residents finds 50% admit falsify cause of death.
- 2010 Office of Inspector General 27% of Medicare patients experienced harm.
- 2012 Office of Inspector General 86% of harm is not reported to agencies.
- 2013 Misdiagnosing patients or making diagnostic errors is one of the most costly and dangerous mistakes made by doctors in the U.S., resulting in up to 160,000 deaths per year.
- 2013 Medical harm now the number three cause of preventable death in America
- 2013 & 2014 Medicare data shows just over 10% of surgery patients die post-op due to treatable complications.
- 2014 Inspector General Survey Reveals That Most Hospitals ignore or Manipulate EHR Fraud Safeguards,deleting audit logs, metadata is common. “Surveying nearly 900 hospitals, the OIG found that 44% said their EHR systems allowed users to delete the audit log. Another 33% said their EHRs allowed disabling the log, while 11% said users could edit records at will…. FBI called into VA investigations. Dr. Scot Silverstein, adjunct faculty member in health informatics and information technology at Drexel University in Philadelphia, wrote on the Health Care Renewal blog. “Considering the conflict of interest a hospital has regarding hiding potential fraud or malpractice ….. a capability to ‘delete the contents of their internal audit logs whenever they’d like’ and to edit audit trails … is simply alarming,”
Credibility Gap.. Chart source: “Diederich Healthcare”
Now let’s consider just the (approximate) 400,000 deaths caused by preventable medical harm in 3013. And add the 400,000 permanently disabled/harmed victims for a total of (approximately) 800,000 yearly victims. Only 12,142 of all patients ever saw any accountability by the medical community. Leaving 787,858, families abandoned by the same medical system they had entrusted their loved life to. When things go wrong,this shows 96% of medical records clear credibility problems. As Dr. Scot Silverstein said regarding EMRs “Considering the conflict of interest a hospital has regarding hiding potential fraud or malpractice ….. a capability to ‘delete the contents of their internal audit logs whenever they’d like’ and to edit audit trails …is simply alarming,”
HIPAA:
1) Provider’s professional insurance carriers would obviously know all about the decades old Federal HIPAA 1035 false state ments law making it a federal crime, punishable by prison to falsify, deceive in any way a patient’s medical records … including hiding errors.. Failure to warn providers of the federal law concerning concealing errors is gross negligence, and breach of fiduciary duties.
Medical University professors would also be well aware of the Federal HIPAA False Statements law, and students would need to understand the legal exposure to criminal conviction for deception in medical harm cases. Failure to instruct students early on of the federal law is gross negligence, and breach of fiduciary duties.
Hospital “Risk Management” have unfettered access to HIPAA Compliance staff right inside their own hospital would have a clear understanding of not only their providers exposure, as well as their own exposure to willful false statements, and participating in the
concealment. When all of these cookie cutter letters are sent to patients post-harm saying “After a thorough review your care was appropriate, and within the standard of care. They would be knowingly committing a felony, and participating in the false statements. All Hospital Boards,
would be fully aware of the wide spread federal crimes on a daily basis right in their hospitals, and yet they to participate by endorsing these crimes, and yes paying bonuses, and receiving bonuses for the profit historically paid from harming patients. Are you in the path of the impending tsunami of legal actions?
Copy right: Danny Long
