Electronic Health Records ( Ehr )

The purpose of this discussion board is to describe the Electronic Health Record (EHR), the six steps of an EHR and how my facility implements them, describe “meaningful use” and how my facility status is in obtaining it, and to further discuss the EHR’s and patient confidentiality.

A personal health record (PHR) is an emerging health information technology that patients may use to participate in their own health care and improve the quality and efficiency of that care. Most articles written about PHRs have been published since 2000.

We live in a world filled with technology. School teachers and college professors use technology to give lectures, health care professionals use technology to keep medical records, or monitor patient’s vital signs, we use technology such as social media, to connect with people and gain acceptance. In 2014, Gary Turk posted a video to Youtube titled Look Up, in which he argues that technology, such as smartphones, causes us to miss out on certain things in life, because we don’t use it in moderation. Technology benefits our lives by making us more efficient in our professional and personal activities.

My interest in all things healthcare related led me to take a position as an electronic health records (EHR) specialist and trainer at North East Medical Services, a federally qualified health center based out of San Francisco. With no prior computer programming background, I accepted the challenge and fed my curiosity by entering unfamiliar territory. Through this experience, I gained a unique perspective on the physiology of a health clinic from medical coding to charting and was privileged to witness the transformative work of a nurse practitioner. The role refined my abilities to lead execution intensive projects with time constraints and to stay present and grounded in high-pressure situations.

An electronic health records (EHRs) has the simplest, digital (computerized) versions of patient 's paper charts. But, (EHRs) when fully up and running are so much more than that. EHRs are real-time patient-centered records. They make information available instantly "whenever and wherever it is needed." And they bring together in one place everything about a patient 's health. EHRs can: contain information about a patient 's medical history, diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, lab and test results; offer access to evidence-based tools that providers can use in making decisions about a patient 's care, automate and streamline provider’s workflow, increase organization and accuracy of patient information, support key market changes in payer requirements and consumer expectations. One of the key features of an EHR is that it can

The electronic medical record (EMR) is the replacement of paper manual charts and is being used all across the country. As per Hebda and Czar (2013), the EMR is the “building block” of the electronic health record (EHR), which can be defined as “a longitudinal record that includes client data, demographics, clinician notes, medications, diagnostic findings, and other essential healthcare information” (p.293). The widespread use of EHR’s in America is foreseeable and inevitably unavoidable, but by no means a simple and undoubtedly an effortless task to achieve.

Electronic health records have propelled IT into the next generation of healthcare. Not only is everything at the providers fingertips, it allows autonomy for the patient. Our world is becoming very digital, from purchasing concert tickets, to applying for college, this is done at the click of a fingertip. Yet healthcare has aspects that are still stuck in the paper documentation era. From receive paper prescriptions from their doctors to filling out patient history every time someone sees a different physician, there is still work to be done to seamlessly transition to a digital platform. According to Collum and Menachemi, EHRs are defined as “a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in

The meaningful use law was written into legislation with the sole purpose of providing healthcare providers with funding for implementing healthcare information technology, electronic health records, protecting patient’s health information, and provides patients with greater access and control over their protected health information. Derived from the Health Insurance Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) that provides funding and incentives for the implementation of electronic health records. Title IV of division B of the ARRA is considered part of the HITECH Act. It addresses Medicare and Medicaid EHR and provides financial incentives to healthcare providers and hospitals that adopt and engage in the “meaningful use” of the electronic health record technology. If this legislation made known, and end-users have a better understanding of the legislation fears and obstacles in adopting this anticipated change can be overcome.

The times of entering and storing health care records in file cabinets is quickly changing due to the electronic age. Electronic Health Records (EHR) are becoming increasingly popular especially since there have been many legislative attempts to encourage the use of health information technology systems. With the potential benefits that come with EHR’s, potential risks are also associated with this technology. The main concern is that of maintaining data security and if current law establishes enough security guidelines. Though security is a major risk of EHR’s many ideas have been proposed in order to help alleviate the potential threats. This topic is beneficial to the profession of nursing because as nurses it is also our responsibility to ensure that these systems are secure in order to maintain the integrity of our patient’s health information.

Healthcare today is impacted by technology and it is changing the way that we communicate and record the healthcare that is to be delivered by clinicians. Paper charting is in the past and almost obsolete due to the advanced technical equipment and computer technology that is available today. In this paper the background of using electronic health records (EHR) will be discussed as well as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and how the privacy and security of EHR for patients are being maintained. An overview of EHR policies will be discussed also along with the ongoing evaluation of healthcare technology use and how it is being measured by organizations, payers and governmental agencies.

In the modern world technology is everywhere and it affects everyone’s daily life. People are constantly attached to cell phones, laptops, and other electronics, which all have affected how people live their lives. Technology is also a large part of the healthcare system today. There are many electronics and technologies that are used in health care such as electronic health record, medication bar code scanning, electronic documentation, telenursing, and there are many more forms of technology that impact nursing. One technology that stands out is the electronic health record. The electronic health record, also referred to as EHR, is an electronic version of a patient’s chart and it contains is a list of the patient’s

Electronic Heath Record (EHR) systems would have not been developed if it was not for the requirement to have a standard computerized health information system. Without information systems and other technologies such as: knowledge and decision-support systems that enhance the quality, safety, efficiency of patient health care and efficient processes for health care delivery cannot be effectively integrated into routine clinical work flow. Some of the benefits of the electronic medical records over traditional paper records include the following: To increase the accessibility and sharing of health records among authorized individuals. The data tends to be more accurate. Electronic records eliminate the possibility of mistakes as a result of misreading a doctor 's handwriting. They 're easy to store and take up less space than paper records. They 're easily portable from one doctor 's office to another. Their use can lead to cost savings, since keeping electronic records is more efficient than retaining paper records. EHR systems can decrease the fragmentation of care by improving care coordination. EHR systems have the potential to integrate and organize patient health information and facilitate its instant distribution among all authorized providers involved in a patient 's care. For example, EHR alerts can be used to notify providers when a patient has been in the hospital, allowing them to proactively follow up with the patient. With EHR systems, every provider can have

EHRs are designed to reach out beyond the health organization that originally collects and compiles the information. They are built to share information with other health care providers, such as laboratories and specialists, so they contain information from all the clinicians involved in the patients care. Electronic health records minimizes errors than paper records, according to experts. Communication between physicians can be greatly improved with the use of EHR, allowing each party to access to a patient’s medical history rather than a snapshot-type overview from a current visit.(Seidman & Garrett,

Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) have become an important component of modern health care. Nowadays, more and more countries including developed countries and some developing countries have implemented EMR in hospitals or clinics to provide better care to patients.

An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of the paper based medical record for an individual. An electronic medical record contains the standard medical and clinical data gathered in one provider’s office. Electronic health record goes beyond the data collected in the provider’s office and includes a more inclusive patient history. This system is intended to store data that accurately captures the state of a patient across time.