Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Electronic Medical Records

In the medical field there have been a lot of technological advances and making health records electronic is one of them. The days of having a paper health record are almost obsolete. An electronic health record keeps a patient’s medical information and history on a computer which is accessible to more people in less time. I will explain how the continuity, communication, coordination and accountability of the electronic health record can help the medical office. I will explain what can be included in the electronic health record. As an advocate of the electronic health record I will also explain some disadvantages to the electronic system.

purpose of this paper is to review the electronic medical record and analyze its impact on

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 records can lessen the disintegration of care by refining care coordination. The use of electronic health records will deliver providers with accurate information. This is especially important for those that see multiple specialists, and enable a smooth transition between care settings and receive treatment in emergency

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

A lengthy list of EHR benefits supports the evolution from paper to electronic medical record keeping. One such benefit, the significant reduction of needed storage space. Bulky paper charts require a lot of space and misplaced charts waste time and effort to locate. Since EHR data remains on the computer, medical practices no longer require secure on-site storage, and electronic files eliminate misplacing files. Another benefit to data remaining on the computer rather than a medical chart, electronic records allow immediate access from several locations. EHRs provide emergency room personnel access to allergies and other pertinent information of unconscious patients. The on-call physician accesses patient information from their home computer, rather than driving to the medical

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized form of a patient’s medical chart. These records allow information to be readily available to authorized providers during a patient’s encounter with the healthcare system. These systems do not only contain medical histories, current medications and insurance information, they also track patients’ diagnoses, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images and lab tests/results (source). The fundamental aspect of EHRs is that they are able to share a patient’s information quickly across service lines and even between different healthcare organizations. Information is at the fingertips of lab techs, primary care physicians, pharmacies, clinics, etc. The

We live in a digital age where everything from photos to important documents is saved or stored online. This includes the use of electronic medical records. The electronic medical record (EMR) is useful in assisting physicians to have a complete and thorough health history of the patient. The EMR serves as a continuity of care from one hospital to another within the same organization (Hsieh, 2014). Consulting physicians also have quick access to recent diagnostic imaging, progress notes, and lab results. EMRs can help manage patients with chronic disease states, aid in data collection for use in research, and prevent adverse drug events (Hsieh, 2014).

Many health care facilities are already starting to use an electronic health record in some of their departments. An electronic health record is a system that allows health care employees to input patient information into a computer system and saves that information into a database for the facility. The information that is being stored directly into the computer system is patients’ personal information (name, date of birth, address, emergency contact information, insurance information, and primary care physician and/or admitting physician), medical history, allergies, current medications, nurses and doctors’ notes, and other information that may pertain to the reason for the visit. Radiology and lab results are also saved into the electronic health record. Even though some health care facilities use a computer system to save some information, there may also be paper work that is also being used. This paper work is scanned into the facilities database so that it can also be saved and viewed if necessary.

Electronic medical records (EMR) can improve healthcare performance and cost efficiency in healthcare facilities. Improving healthcare performance includes patient safety, quality of care, and health status of the patients. Patient safety with medication errors continue to escalate, costing health care systems billions of dollars each year (Seibert, et al., 2014). An estimated 450,000 adverse drug events-medication errors that result in patient harm-occur annually, approximately 25% of which are preventable (Seibert, et. al, 2014). Overall, having an EMR helps improve healthcare delivery: no illegible handwriting, information can be shared on an instantaneous basis within a healthcare institution or between institutions, and review of previous

Electronic Health Records (EHR) are changing the way health care is delivered to patients, not just how patient medical information is stored. In the recent past, patient-doctor visits consisted of handwritten multiple medical forms to be completed, and most times duplicated. There were several areas of concern with past patient record keeping, omission of important care information, medical interventions and prescribed medication were missed in certain cases, erroneously prescribed or duplicated and records were lost or misplaced. EHR facilities and improves the quality of care by refining access to patient record by multiple health care providers and the patient; better decision support; reporting occurs in real time and is legible which

This type of technology would provide information on the general practice, medical specialty, radiology, pharmacy, and laboratory data which relates to the patient. Health care providers would be able to access patient information, diagnostic images, test results, medication, and medical history and patients would be able to access their own information with ease from their home environment (Jones & Donelle, 2011). Although electronic health records would provide little effort for health care workers to access information, there are and will continue to be challenges with the implementation of the product without a hands-on approach (Jones & Donelle,

Electronic health records affect the way providers deliver care to or communicate with patients, and they all confront barriers impeding their widespread adoption and use (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013, p. 164).

Electronic medical records have the potential to transform and develop healthcare in a multiplicity of ways over the coming years. According to Net Health, there are three different ways that specialized EMRs are transforming the world of healthcare today. The first way is the fact that the more accessible data exists in the healthcare industry, the easier it is to make a diagnosis (NetHealth). These diagnoses are not being used in just one setting, however, but in a conglomeration of medical care settings. These include clinics and treatments which are improving the quality of life for breast cancer patients, diabetes patients, chlamydia patients and even colorectal cancer patients (Kern). Electronic records are creating a huge and accessible database to reach information more quickly and more efficiently. As physicians and practices,

Instead of using paper based records, technology allows physicians to use the electronic medical record (EMR) that improves the quality of programs. By using the EMR, this is not easy nor is it low cost. Physicians’ have to use this method as their daily task. There are some barriers that has been identified with the use of the EMR by the physicians we will discuss. There will be some suggestions made that might can help the policy interventions to overcome the barriers. This will include the support system of work/practice including electronic clinical data exchange, and financial rewards for quality improvement. (Sim, 2004)