Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) has introduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would offer some legal protection to Medicare and Medicaid providers in cases of adverse events attributed to the use of electronic health records (EHRs).
The Safeguarding Access for Every Medicare Patient Act (HR 3239) is designed to create a system for reporting potential errors that occur when using electronic records without the threat of that information being used as an admission of guilt. The proposal allows for healthcare providers who use electronic records to take remedial measures without having those actions be used to establish guilt, places time limits on the filing of lawsuits, and offers protection against libel and slander lawsuits.
The bill also calls for equitable assignment of responsibility, with each responsible party liable only for its share of damages.
