Advantages And Disadvantages Of Electronic Health Records

In a healthcare world that operates on stringent budgets and margins, we begin to see the need for a higher capacity healthcare delivery system. This in turn puts pressure on the healthcare organizations to ensure higher standards of patient care, and compliance with the reform provisions. However, these are the harsh realities of today’s healthcare environment, a setting in which value does not always equal quality. The use of technology can help to amend some of this by providing higher capacity care without compromising quality; this can be done with the use of such technology as electronic health records (EHRs). This paper will aim to address how EHRs influence healthcare today by expanding upon topics such as funding sources, reimbursement methods, economic factors, socioeconomic factors, business influences, and cost containment.

Kreps and Neuhauser (2010) reviewed significant communication concerns included in the model of efficient and humane eHealth applications to assist in directing strategic implementation and development of health information technologies. The article described the communication transformation developing in the creation of a wide-range of new eHealth applications, which included the electronic health record (Kreps & Neuhauser, 2010). The adoption, implementation, and development of a wide range of new eHealth applications have the potential to improve the quality of care patients receive, increase provider and patient access to pertinent health information, decrease healthcare mistakes, encourage acceptance of a healthy lifestyle and increase collaboration among healthcare providers (Kreps & Neuhauser, 2010). The conclusions from this article emphasized the importance of creating applications that are interoperable, easy to use, appealing, accessible, and communicate the correct information needed to yield the best possible patient care (Kreps & Neuhauser, 2010).

electronic health record (EHR) A secure real-time, point-of-care, patient centric information resource for clinicians allowing access to patient information when and where needed and incorporating evidence-based decision support.

Electronic health records (EHR) are health records that are generated by health care professionals when a patient is seen at a medical facility such as a hospital, mental health clinic, or pharmacy. The EHR contains the same information as paper based medical records like demographics, medical complaints and prescriptions. There are so many more benefits to the EHR than paper based medical records. Accuracy of diagnosis, quality and convenience of patient care, and patient participation are a few examples of the

EHR was created to have a technical way to securely exchange private and personal medical health information in hopes to improve the quality of care, decrease medical errors, limiting paper use, reduction of health care cost, and increasing a person access to affordable health care. A mandate was created for EHR stating that health records can be accessible to all facilities with patients having the capability to access their own health records at any time. Ameliorating the quality and convenience of care given to a patient, allow for cost saving measures, engage the patient and family to participate in their care, improve accuracy of medical diagnosis, and enhance the efficiency of the overall outcome of the patients’ health.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made an investment in the year 2009 to encourage the adoption and implementation of the electronic health records (EHRs)(Cite). EHRs incentive payments were authorized through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they privately and securely used EHRs for achieving improvements in care delivery by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The healthcare organizations are expected to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs. This rule of meaningful use has been implemented to strike a balance between acknowledging the urgency of adopting EHRs for improving the healthcare system and identifying the challenges that would be put forth

In 2009, the Health Technology for Electronic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 1996 was expanded. This expansion included mandated guidelines for health care systems in the Unites States to continue implementing of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in health care settings by 2016 and added a provision to improve protection of patient health information through privacy and security Turk (2015) . The implementation of this program has created a debate in the medical community. In addition, many healthcare organizations and institutions have conducted research studies and surveys to evaluate the effects of the EHR on documentation of care and other aspects of the EHR. Challenges surrounding the HER include, the cost of implementing EHR’s, time spent performing documentation, and patient outcomes and safety and security concerns. Let’s further delve into a few of these challenges.

As the national health care system transitions to the electronic health record (EHR), it is important to recall the impetus to this reform. Prior to the implementation of the electronic health record, the national health care system encountered many problems that impeded quality patient care. There was not a standardized formal structure with the process. Consequently, it lacked communication across disciplines and among providers and

In efforts to reform the United States healthcare system and create a nationally unified data exchange system the federal government has established an incentive program to eligible professionals and hospitals. The federal government has turned to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to help facilitate the process of broadening health IT infrastructures. The federal government views EHR system used in meaningful ways as the key to reforming the healthcare systems. Meaningful use of the EHR systems can also improve the overall quality of healthcare, insure patient safety, as well as reduce the cost of healthcare to individuals (Bigalke & Morris, 2010, p. 116).

Over the previous eight years, there has been a significant investment of private and public funds to upsurge the adoption of Electronic health records (EHRs) across the nation. The extensive adoption and “meaningful use” of electronic health records is a national priority. EHRs come in various forms and can be utilized in distinct organizations, as interoperating systems in allied health care units, on a regional level, or nationwide. The benefit of utilizing an EHR depends heavily on provider’s uptake on technology. Benefits related to electronic health records are numerous and may have clinical, organizational and societal outcomes. However, challenges in implementing electronic health records has attained some attention, the implementation

“… longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting”. Included in this information are patient demographics… reports. The EHR automates and streamlines the clinician 's workflow. The EHR has the ability to generate a complete record of a clinical patient encounter, and related activities directly or indirectly via interface—including evidence-based decision support, quality management, and outcomes reporting.”(GAO, 2010)

Use of EHR (electronic health records) in United States has increased in past years and have gained widespread use in the country. The use of EHR-Electronic Health Records or EMR-Electronic Medical Records and the systems that support them have gained standardized collection of health information and data for patient and healthcare providers. Because of these technologies, healthcare providers now have information about their patients at their fingertips, which has led to better and more accurate care. There are debates on using EHR. According to Mushtaq (2015), one of the most common debate is the use of EHR compliance and the value of these technologies that surround them (Mushtaq, 2015). Providers wonder if EHR use is useful and what is to be gained for the HCP-Healthcare provider. In regards to such debates and ongoing conversations, it is important to understand the definition of meaningful use and whether these technologies have resulted in meaningful use. According to Burchell (2016), The government developed the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act of 2009, which incorporates the meaningful use program (Burchell, 2016). The program has goals that tell us how to use the meaningful use with EMR or EHR. It helps HCP and organizations alike attain, use and keep goals like patient and clinical outcomes, individual patient autonomy, and increased transparency for providers. When these goals are attained and kept it will greatly

With the advent of electronic health records (EHR’s) and The American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, electronic health records have become main stream and a requirement for healthcare providers who treat Medicaid and Medicare patients. An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart (Health IT, n.d.). EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. A portion of ARRA provides reimbursements to providers that have EHR’s that are certified for meaningful use. Certified EHR’s meet meaningful use requirements by meeting the government the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)

EHR is an acronym for electronic health records. The focus of an electronic health record is on the total health of patients, not just the care at one clinic. Technology has made it possible for the EHR to replace many functions of the traditional paper chart, and promises significant advances in patient care (The Use of electronic Medical Records, 2015). The information that is contained in an EHR moves with the patient wherever they may be (nursing home, PCP, etc.). An EHR is designed to be accessed by everyone involved with the patients care, including the patient. Electronic Health Records allow for more coordinated and patient centered care. They also make it possible to collect and analyze data through each patient and their lines of

It is important to understand that patients are very satisfied with electronic health systems. For example, patients see a vast improvement in the speed at which they are being seen when they go their doctors’ office. Patients no longer have to wait on their physicians for hours due to the fact that their information can be readily available to their physicians when they come to see them. Moreover, all their information is transparent to their health care provider since all their data is in electronic form.