Instances of breaches in chiropractic EHR may have you believing that digitized records are somehow less secure than paper files. However, this technology has actually been produced to increase the ease of transmission among medical professionals while further safeguarding personal data from prying eyes. So, how exactly do breaches occur when chiropractic EMR software is supposed to be safer? The issues generally arise from a shoddy product or lack of communication between software providers and healthcare professionals.

Recently, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT made a move to bridge this gap by releasing a series on EHR security entitled the Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) Guides.

"These [nine] guides are a suite of tools that include checklists and recommended practices designed to help health care providers and the organizations that support them assess and optimize the safety and safe use of EHRs," the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wrote in an official statement.

Each guide will focus on a different aspect of EHR assessment and security, including system interfaces and configuration, communication between practitioners and patient identification practices. By issuing such guides, the ONC aims to bolster existing safeguards and thereby enable medical professionals to make full use of their chiropractic EHR software without fear of data breaches and other slip ups.

Even so, it is essential for chiropractors to conduct ample research before selecting a chiropractic EHR provider, as the relationship they forge with these professionals will have a substantial impact on the success of their EHR adoption and implementation process. In addition to investigating usability concerns like interface, ICD-10 preparedness and templates, look into the training and support systems in place for troubleshooting, security queries and other concerns that may arise.