Dynamic Patient Centered Records

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

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

There are inherent risk and benefits of hospitals utilizing electronic medical records. Three problems that could occur involve workflow, registration and drug interactions. The aforementioned are problems that spill over into the other because they are interrelated. This is caused by inconsistency among “disparate systems,” communication between departments and errors involving medication (Gartee, 2011, p. 183).

Implementing to electronic medical records has many benefits such as reducing medical record errors, accuracy, having medical record access immediately, reducing medication errors and improving patient care. Monetary incentives are given to providers who demonstrate meaningful use. For those who do not, they face reduction in reimbursement amounts. “In 2017, reduction in reimbursement is 3%.” (National Center for Medical Records, n.d.)

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

As patient information is readily available in the electronic record, it makes health care provider make better and quicker choices and decisions. These decisions can be based on evidence base care that is supported through data that is gathered from the patient’s records. EHR improves patient safety by providing access to information, eliminating gaps of communication among the different providers, decrease redundancy, and reduces duplication in testing. EHR has benefited health care and at the same time create positive outcomes for the nurses. Some of the positive outcomes for nurses are; comparison of previous to current data, improves documentation of the quality of care, allows recognition of the work done in measurable units by nurses, and reduces redundancy with baseline demographic data (Hebda & Czar, 2013). Data that is summarized through the EHR can evaluate performance management and look at quality issues. Along with those features, EHR can potentially increase efficiency, improved quality of care, standardize documentation, increase clinical workflow, and improved overall outcomes for

There is improvement in financial, administrative and management information, decrease in the duplication of the records, decrease in the repetitive lab tests, and reduction in the cost associated with hospital stays. A lot of money is saved by electronically storing and managing volumes of information [1]. ITAA believes that an industry-wide investment in IT of $18.1 billion would yield gross savings of greater than $120 billion dollars for the health care industry over a six-year period. [2] Many billing errors, coding inaccuracy have been reduced and as a result of this, there is enhancement in revenue.

Hillestad, R., Bigelow, J., Bower, A., Girosi, F., Meili, R., Scoville, R., & Taylor, R. (2005). Can electronic medical record systems transform health care? Potential health benefits, savings, and costs. Health Affairs,24(5), 1103-1117. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.24.5.1103

This system frees up the amount of time that physicians spend documenting patient information, allowing them to focus on providing quality healthcare.

Some physicians feel meaningful use is a burden on them, and that it could take time away from one’s patients. One might feel that all one does is input data into the electronic record. Physicians feel that they spend too much time clicking on buttons, and that there is so much information it is easy to get lost in the system. Some systems may show a lag due to all the individual now on the computers. It is hard for some to understand change, but meaningful use is a great benefit to healthcare.

Electronic medical records (EMRs) can improve work flow, quality of patient care, and patient safety. However, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 4% of physicians reported to having a fully functional EMR system (2015). There are numerous barriers to implementing an EMR system: 1)They requires extensive change and training, 2) They can be expensive (The cost is usually recouped by large agencies, such as Kaiser Permanente, but costs are not recouped by smaller medical offices), and 3) There is a lack of sufficient resources for implementation and maintenance.

Sophisticated electronic records and computer systems for tracking patient care is another important attribute of Kaiser. Since five years, Kaiser is using the electronic information to identify and evaluate providers’ strengths and weaknesses in order to improve the quality of care (Abelson, 2013). The organization also uses the electronic records to improve its care delivery, e.g. by identifying at-risk patients and establishing alert and reminder systems for quick and timely care

These records may include a whole range of data in comprehensive or summary form, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal stats like age and weight, and billing information. The most important aspect of the electronic patient record is that it is generated and maintained within an institution, such as a hospital, integrated delivery network, clinic, or physician office, to give patients, physicians and other health care providers, employers, and payers or insurers access to a patient's.medical records across facilities (Wager & Glaser, 2009). By the end of the decade less than 15 percent of physician practices, and only 10 percent of hospitals had implemented these systems. This number was remarkably low considering that at the end of the 90’s computer-based patient record systems had become reliable and widespread.

Technology has enabled health care providers to communicate and treat patients more efficiently. Technology has greatly reduced the risk of lost files, as the patients ' information is now stored and backup on a server. This also reduces the risk of transcriber error. Technology reduced the need for handwritten prescriptions, thus reducing the risk of dispensing errors.