Although deceased loved ones live on in their families’ memories, when they live on in electronic health records, the result is a costly and frustrating logistical nightmare for healthcare organizations, a new study shows.
Due to an issue within California state law, 20% of patients listed as living with a serious illness actually were dead, according to data reviewed over a two-year period, 2020-2022.
That issue resulted in a significant amount of extra work and outreach, including phone calls, appointments and prescription refills, which were conducted on behalf of the deceased, a story noted Monday.
In cataloging the various errors that occurred — which included reminders for cancer screenings, vaccine orders and active appointments — the researchers make the absurd, but correct, conclusion that “not knowing who is dead hinders efficient health management.”
This futile care coordination adds stress to healthcare workers and administrators at a time when the industry at large is facing a crisis around staffing shortages and burnout from an overload of such administrative tasks.
This kind of fragmented data issue is one reason why many senior care operators are prioritizing systems interoperability and the ease of transmitting people’s health data between different contexts as goals moving forward.
The California law that led to the EHR issue stipulates that complete death data aren’t available for healthcare companies except “for purposes of law enforcement or preventing fraud”; the researchers said that they hoped that their report would lead to changes that would remove any barriers from healthcare organizations receiving more accurate information on fatalities.
Although the particular issue around zombie EHR files appears unique to California — at least for now — it does highlight the ongoing need for improved coordination between all hospitals, senior care facilities and any other points of care.
Study findings were published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.
