EHR Prompt Nearly Kills Prison Inmate

An inmate at a California correctional facility nearly received a lethal dose of heart medication last week at the prompting of a newly implemented electronic health record system. The system--from EHR vendor Epic--reportedly has caused multiple additional headaches for nurses since going live July 1, sparking a record number of complaints and a call for the system to "go away until it's fixed," the Contra Costa Times reported.

Contra Costa County officials had visions of seamless connectivity for the exchange of health records between the county's correctional facilities and Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, according to the newspaper. Instead, the $45 million system has been nothing but trouble, claim the nurses charged with its use. Jerry Fillingim, a labor representative for the nurses, told the Times that Epic was treating the county as its "guinea pig."