5 unique EHR contract stipulations

It's well established that vendor electronic health record and related contracts heavily favor the vendor to the detriment of the provider. Many of them limit the vendor's liability, require that the EHR software be taken "as-is," prohibit class-action lawsuits or require arbitration. "They all limit their liabilities ... and [allow] the vendor much legal leeway," Carl Bergman, a consultant who serves as managing partner of EHRselector.com, a free service that enables providers to compare different ambulatory EHR products, tells FierceEMR.

They're also hard to find, making review and comparison virtually impossible. But some EHR and related contracts contain terms that are a bit unique--and are accessible online (many thanks to Bergman for locating most of them). Here are a few that warrant a second look.

We expect you to be clairvoyant: Cerner's Web portal agreement, section 6, Use of Communication Services says "You will not … Upload files that contain viruses, worms, corrupted files, or any other similar software, programs or malicious content that may damage the operation of systems hosting Cerner Web Sites or another's computer." Seems a bit harsh, since most users don't upload malware on purpose.