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Jodi Terranova

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Jodi Terranova focuses her legal practice on litigating medical malpractice cases. She also handles general liability and premises liability matters. Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Jodi worked for a law firm in Alexandria, VA, where she focused on professional, commercial, premises and general liability matters.

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Close up of doctor writing on a medical chartIt the fast-paced world of health care, it is easy to forget the simple things – like notifying your state licensing board about address changes. It seems trivial, but there may be consequences for a physician who fails to update her physician profile.

State medical boards have the responsibility and obligation to protect consumers of health care by ensuring that all licensed physicians comply with the laws and regulations related to the practice of medicine. These boards have a process for the public to submit formal complaints, and, once a complaint is made, the board conducts an investigation that includes contacting the physician for a response. But what happens when the physician does not respond?Continue Reading Licensing Boards Can Fine You – Even If They Can’t Find You

126426597I do not profess to be an expert in the complexities of metadata in an electronic medical record (EMR). In simple terms, it is analogous to leaving footprints in the sand; although these do not wash away with high tide. In fact, the simple act of logging in and out of an electronic medical chart, and more significantly, viewing and creating records, is indelible. Most health care providers never even consider the impact of logging on and viewing a medical chart in their daily practice.

The metadata can be compiled into an audit trail that shows the date, time and user who accessed a patient’s chart. It even shows whether the user created or added to an existing record. Consequently, audit trails from a patient’s EMR can either support or discredit the testimony of medical providers during medical malpractice litigation. Plaintiffs’ attorneys are becoming more sophisticated and now ask for these audit trails as part of their standard discovery requests.Continue Reading Audit Trails: Pitfalls of Electronic Medical Records, Part III

medicalrecords_163751742In an earlier blog post, I discussed the importance of time stamps and signatures in electronic medical records (EMRs). A potential pitfall in using EMRs is the prevalence of drop-down menus.

EMR software uses drop-down menus to make record keeping more efficient, rather than having the physician type in free text. Such drop-down menus are often available for the physician to identify the patient’s chief complaint or presenting problem. The drop-down menu can list hundreds of potential symptoms or problems that could plague a patient. The problem arises when the menu option does not fully or precisely align with the reason for the visit.Continue Reading Drop-down Menus: The Pitfalls of Electronic Medical Records, Part II

medical-health-records122481179TSRecently, I was preparing my physician-client for his deposition in a medical malpractice lawsuit. At the end of the meeting, he asked me: “How can I do better in the future?” My client was referring to his entries into the electronic medical record (EMR). With the transition to EMRs, this is one question that all medical providers should be asking. My initial blogs will discuss the problems with EMR and how they present in litigation.
Continue Reading “How can I do better?” The Pitfalls of Electronic Medical Records, Part I