When IT Creates Legal Vulnerability: Not Just Overutilization but Underprovisioning of Health Care Could be a Consequence

Dec. 14, 2021 - Yeongin Kim, Mehmet Ayvaci, Srinivasan Raghunathan and Turgay Ayer

Citation: Kim, Yeongin, Mehmet Ayvaci, Srinivasan Raghunathan and Turgay Ayer, "When IT Creates Legal Vulnerability: Not Just Overutilization but Underprovisioning of Health Care Could be a Consequence." MIS Quarterly (Accepted) [ssrn].

Research Summary: 

Electronic health records (EHRs) increase a doctor’s ability to make better decisions, because they provide readily available access to patient records. At the same time, such highly visible information can make doctors more vulnerable to litigation. For example, if a key test result is not highlighted, it can be argued that the doctor failed to pay attention to that test result and is therefore responsible for any adverse consequences.

In this study, we note doctors may become defensive in order to diminish the legal liability induced by EHRs. Since such defensive behavior is in the doctor’s self-interest but not necessarily the best interest of the patient, we also examine possible policy interventions that might help the situation. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find that a policy which underutilizes care service could provide a possible remedy, especially as the accuracy of EHRs increases. We believe this study can help policy makers in the future as they weigh the appropriate use of IT in the healthcare field.