EHR vendor eClinicalWorks has been hit with a class-action lawsuit that alleges patients couldn't trust their medical record's accuracy due to flaws in the company's software.
The suit comes just six months after the company was hit with a $155 million settlement to resolve a False Claims Act suit that claimed it gave customers kickbacks to publically promote its products.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kristina Tot -- in charge of the Stjepan Tot estate -- filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York on Thursday. Tot is asking for $999 million in monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty and gross negligence.
Stjepan Tot died of cancer, and the suit claims that "he was unable to determine reliably when his first symptoms of cancer appeared [as] his medical records failed to accurately display his medical history on progress notes."
Further, the lawsuit claims that millions of patients have compromised patient records, as eClinicalWorks' software didn't meet meaningful use and certification requirements laid out by the Office of the National Coordinator.
These patients "can no longer rely on the accuracy and veracity" of their medical records as it stands in eClinicalWorks EHRs. According to the suit, more than 850,000 healthcare providers use eClinicalWorks software.
In the complaint, Tot lists a wide range of the company's shortcomings including failure to reliably record diagnostic imaging orders; failed audit log requirements; failed data portability requirements; and failure to satisfy required certification criteria, among others.
eClinicalWorks settled with the Department of Justice in May for knowingly falsifying meaningful use certification, which allowed for fraudulent incentive payments to providers. It was the first case of its kind. But some have suggested eClinicalWorks was not the only vendor to shirk certification criteria.
As a result, DOJ demanded eClinicalWorks transfer its data to rival EHRs for free and hire an independent watchdog for the company.
The lawsuit was first filed by whistleblower Brendan Delaney, who was a software technician at the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement at that time.
Source: Healthcare IT News (View full article)
Posted by Dan Corcoran on November 20, 2017 07:25 AM
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