Patient Safety | 01.06.21
Connecticut Practice Settles EHR-Related Malpractice Lawsuit for $2M
by Healthcare IT News
Healthcare IT News (12/29/20) Jercich, Kat
OB-GYN Services Inc. has reached a $2 million settlement in a medical malpractice lawsuit after a couple claimed genetic testing they'd ordered during pregnancy was never performed. The alleged mistake may have been related to the Connecticut-based facility's then-new electronic health record (EHR) system. Kelly Reardon, the couple's lawyer, remarks, "We think the fact that the test was never ordered was overlooked due to the software issue." Elizabeth Trotter sued OB-GYN Services in late 2018 after the birth of her second child, who has cystic fibrosis. Trotter had asked for genetic testing when she was pregnant with her first child two years earlier. But a cystic fibrosis screening was apparently never done because of issues with the EHR. She did not ask for a test during her second pregnancy, believing one had been performed in 2016. There has been an increase in EHR-related malpractice suits in recent years, with both system factors and user errors contributing to alleged medical errors.
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