Regarding reporting of healthcare IT problems and defects that might cause, or have caused, patient harm, the executive VP at EPIC stated at a HHS Health IT Policy Committee certification workgroup:
... The FDA might not be the best organization to help the ONC create an environment where people feel comfortable coming forward with incident reports, said Carl Dvorak, executive VP at EHR system provider Epic Systems and a workgroup member
Dvorak said he's also concerned that the FDA's QSR process wouldn't address problems people spoke about in recent workgroup testimony. "If the mission is to build a safer system, I don't know that the FDA can contribute toward that mission," he said.
To this I ask these questions:
1. Where, exactly, does Mr. Dvorak think clinicians and healthcare organizations report defects and problems with devices and drugs now? Consumer Reports? Good Housekeeping?
2. What is Mr. Dvorak's first hand experience with the FDA in terms of reporting on medical devices and medical device IT, and pharmaceuticals? Could that be the reason he "doesn't know" how the FDA can contribute to "the mission" of HIT medical device safety?
Perhaps Mr. Dvorak himself is uncomfortable reporting defects and problems with health IT medical devices to FDA as opposed to some new, amateur medical device safety organization [see note 1] friendly to the HIT industry or in their pockets, but clinicians won't be.
Either that, or this is one of the lamest attempt at FUD in computing history [see note 2].
A possibly real billboard from parts unknown about where to report shoddy HIT: FDA's MedWatch Hotline. (Hat tip to HisTALK blog.)-- SS
Notes:
[1] See my post "Third-Party Reviews of Medical Devices Come Under Scrutiny at the FDA - Except Healthcare IT Medical Devices, Which Get Special Accommodation" for more on the issue of third-parties and amateurs performing device review.
[2] HIT personnel in my experience often seem to resort to a psyops strategy of trying to instill Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt in others to kill ideas they don't like (usually, ideas that would cause them to have to work harder), although it's usually done in a far more credible manner than in this example.
