A new bill introduced into the House of Representatives would protect Medicare and Medicaid providers from frivolous lawsuits related to their use of electronic health records and other health information technology.

Drafted by Representative Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, the Safeguarding Access for Every Medicare Patient Act would put in place legal protection that would prevent doctors using EHR systems from becoming the target of data fishing expeditions, in which predatory legal teams would review mountains of patient data looking for instances of errors.

The laws would also set up a system through which practices could report medical errors without the information being used as an admission of guilt.

Representative Marino said these protections are necessary, as every provider in the country will soon be compelled to adopt an EHR system or face reductions in reimbursement rates. The protections will make it more feasible for practices to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients, which protects access to care and helps contain costs.

Additionally, putting in place the new set of protections would require no new government spending, Representative Marino said.