Electronic Health Records ( Ehr )

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.

In 2004 president George Busch announced the goal to mandate electronic health records for every American by 2014. This would require every paper chart to be converted to electronic chart so that health care providers and the patient themselves can access their information through the internet (Simborg, 2011). The purpose of developing the EHR is to provide appropriate patient information from any location. Also to improve health care quality and the coordination of care among hospital staff. To reduce medical error, cost and advance medical care. Last to ensure patient health information is secure (DeSalvo, 2014) The Department of Health and Human Services appointed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health

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

An external strength is the availability of new technology in the workplace. There are many emerging technologies that will change the practice of nursing in the coming decade including genetics and genomics, less invasive and more accurate tools for diagnosis and treatment of diseases, 3-D printing, robotic simulations, biometrics, electronic health records, and even computerized physician order sets (Huston, 2013). This skill set is forecasted to become even more essential in the coming years. One goal identified in the Healthy People 2020 initiatives is use of health information technology to improve population health outcomes and health care quality, and to achieve health equity (Healthy People 2020, 2012).

The government has been trying to protect patients’ healthcare information since they first introduced The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). Since that time, technology has paved the way for The Electronic Health Record (EHR). Those that promote the usage of the EHR as the standard of care, strongly believe that the risks of privacy are outweighed by the benefits that it brings. These benefits include, but are not limited to: improved patient care, decreased medical errors, and better collaboration between healthcare providers.

The use of electronic health records (EHR) aims at improving the quality and safety of patient care. An electronic health record (EHR) is an electronic version of the patient’s entire medical history including past diagnoses, treatments, and current medications being taken. There has been a rise in the conversion to EHR from paper records because these electronic records can track patient data over time and monitor parameters such as trends in vital signs over time or vaccination history, all which contribute to the improvement in the quality of patient care being delivered (Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). EHR’s are used currently to make more efficient, comprehensive decisions about patients, because there is more information available at the fingertips of the providers. By adopting EHR’s, it can provide health care providers accurate, more comprehensive information about the patient’s health to enhance the ability to provide quick and efficient care, to better coordinate patient care, and to provide a way to share this comprehensive set of information with both the patient and their families (Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to explore EHR’s in entirety including the EHR mandate, who started it, when it was started, and what the objectives and goals of the mandate are. The connection between EHR’s and The Affordable Care Act will also be explored. Each facility has their own implementation of the use of EHR’s;

Electronic health records (EHR) are digital patient records whose interoperable and sharable use can lead to improved safety, effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of care. The value of EHR is leading to more efforts into integrating medical organizations with the rest of the health care system to maximize patient benefits and improve transitions of care. Highlighting the case for EHR to health care stakeholders, such as organizations, organizational managers, and practitioners, will help contribute towards the integration above, in the process also supporting policies aimed to introduce EHR in healthcare. The objective of the policy brief is to demonstrate the value of EHR in promoting positive transitions of care and minimizing

Electronic health records will be electronically accessible to vendors and clients. To protect confidential information a security code must be used to access information. The Institute of Medicine identified six goals for health care; medical care should do no harm, be valuable, patient-focused, relevant, fruitful, and unbiased. (National Academies, 2013). EHR can help increase patient-focused care; the patient will be able to view their records online and assist in guiding their care. When records are accessible online patients can see them and manage diseases, collaborate care with providers, and improve patient to provider communication (Ricciardi, Mostashari, Murphy, Daniel, & Siminerio, 2013). Patients that are well-informed about their care have better health outcomes compared to uninformed patients. Patients who are involved in their care are less likely to experience adverse effects, to be admitted to the hospital, and have a medication error from lack of collaboration with their provider (Ricciardi et al. 2013). For providers to receive funds under the meaningful use incentive to purchase electronic equipment, they must show medical decisions are patient driven. (Ricciardi et al. 2013).

Learning the difference between Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) is critical when addressing the potential concerns of interoperability; without a clear understanding of the two, this subject would be foreign.

Living in a world full of technology, more and more of us are overall connected to computerizing, and we expect it to do everything for us. Many years before we didn 't have technology, and mostly everyone was into making it. Now if we look at our world, everything is mostly done online. More Canadians do shopping online, students receive more knowledge about the subject their learning online, booking hotels, flights, and even do schooling online. Though looking after all this, most patients in Canada are still handed with paper based records. When we go to the doctor, most of us still receive handwritten prescriptions and our records are unrecognized.

An Electronic health record (EHR) is a longitudinal electronic health record of a patients information generated together by 1 or more encounters in all health care settings. Such information included in a patient file (EHR) are as such, the patient demographics, notes of patient vital signs, from each visit, medical history, laboratory results and other reports given from doctors, nurses and other physicians.

The electronic health record (EHR) System is a database that contains all the details of patient’s medical status and has been designed to facilitate rapid access to such information when necessary (Hayrian, Sarnto & Nykanen, 2008). This database is advantageous for both medical practitioners and patients as it facilitates an improvement in the level of care provided by health workers across all departments, and has become a fundamental resource for the healthcare sector (Scott,2007).

Electronic personal health records (PHRs) are Internet based tools that enable individuals to access, manage, and share their health information. An effective management of chronic diseases and disease prevention requires greater patients’ involvement in health education, prevention, and treatment activities. This involvement requires that patients have access to reliable health information and the ability to comprehend and use this information. PHRs systems offer the potential of increasing the active involvement of patients in health self-management. However, little is known about the actual usability of these tools for health consumers.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) systems will support the use of e-health, it is very beneficial and is the most complicated type of health information system. EHR benefits include availability, accessibility, and accuracy of data (Ayatollahi, 2014). EHR works by involving other information systems in the field of healthcare. Clearly, regularization of other health systems will speed up the process of integration and creation of EHRs. When developing an EHR, the process is not an easy job and contains many barriers that will make accomplishing goals even harder. Before, the EHR is adopted, technical problems must be recognized and solved. The main barriers to the progression and adoption of EHRs include low amounts of national information exchange, not enough human and technical issues, problems about the adjustment of the process, a shortage of integration between health information systems, a shortage of databases, and problems with keeping health information confidential (Ayatollahi, 2014). Hospital information systems were established by private information technology (IT) companies. Yet, these systems were not reliable and different vendors’ products could be found in the market; to lead the projects and avoid replication across the country, the Ministry of Health’s statistics and IT

The way in which facilities access patient’s health records have changed from paper charts to electronic health records (EHR). Healthcare facilities have been mandated by the federal government to start using EHR for access and storage of health information (Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). There are six steps that assist facilities in order to prepare them to start utilizing EHR (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2014). EHR privacy is maintained through the Health Insurance Probability Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Burkhart and Nathaniel, 2014). This allows coordination of care among healthcare professionals in order to deliver quality, safe, cost effective care to patients.