A
new set of guides and interactive tools designed to help health care
providers use electronic health records (EHRs) more safely has been
released by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The SAFER Guides
are a suite of tools that include checklists and recommended practices
to help health care providers assess and optimize the safety and safe
use of EHRs.
The
SAFER Guides complement AHRQ’s existing safety tools and research.
AHRQ’s Patient Safety Organizations have identified health IT as a high
priority given the impact EHRs are having on patient safety right now.
AHRQ has a wide variety of health IT tools and resources to help
implement and use Health IT safely including the Health IT Hazard Manager, the Workflow Assessment for Health IT Toolkit, Implementation Tools for E-Prescribing, Consumer Health IT Design Guide, and the Guide to Reducing Unintended Consequences of EHRs.
