Gaps And Issues And Challenges Of An 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.

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.

This case analysis of Stanford’s Hospital and Clinics (SHC) electronic medical record (EMR) system implementation will focus on how the healthcare organization focused on resolving a problem to meet regulatory pressures and responded to an opportunity to create operational efficiency, by capitalizing on the use of information technology to help reduce costs. We will discuss the organization’s IT problems, opportunities, and the alternatives available to address each. We will summarize an analysis of potential alternatives including the organization’s EMR system of choice and conclude with a recommendation to the Board on how to rollout the new system.

The EMR is a software program used to enter patients information into a computer, which organizes and stores the information. I believe most offices will keep the paper charts in a very safe location or shred it. But I think because of the confidentiality that any and all information or records relating to patients is considered privileged. basically saying keeping all information about the patient confidential.

There are five different components that contribute to the operations of healthcare. They are hardware, software, data, procedures and people. Hardware is the first step in the operations for any hospital or clinic. Reason being, the employees of said health organization will need access to a computer to preform, access and communicate with other health professionals or their patients. The way they can access this information is through any mobile device (Phone, iPod, portable device), computer or other technical devices. These are essential for the health organization to preform their daily operations.

For a nation to be technologically advanced, the United States (U.S.) is having a hard time overcoming the dark era of utilizing hand written scripts, progress notes, and paper records. In comparison to other countries, the U.S. is lagging behind in the health care system. Even with all the improvements that have been made recently, the U.S. ranked last in 2014 in areas such as access, efficiency and equity compared to Australia, Canada, France Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Davis, Stremikis, Squires, & Schoen, 2014). Now, as our nation is trying to improve the quality, access, and proficiency of our health care, concerns have been raised whether the new policies are adequate enough for privacy amongst sharing and obtaining health information. This paper was put together to give background information on how the electronic medical record came about and whether privacy is a major concern amongst the American population.

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.

In Med Surg I, I was assigned to Harford Memorial Hospital. I was really excited to be back in the hospital setting after fourteen years of working in an outpatient surgical center. I previously worked in the Intensive Care unit at Fallston General Hospital for ten years as a critical care tech so I was really looking forward to caring for patients in the hospital setting. I was assigned two patients for which I had to perform a level two assessment on as well as their care. It was a rude awakening for me to discover that the nurses had to wear a phone and that it constantly rang while they were in the patient’s room trying to care for them. Also, all medical information and treatment was now in the computer and you had to scan their identification band and search for information throughout their chart. It appeared to me that some of the nurses never once looked their patient in the eye when they spoke to them, instead they stared at the computer. It made me feel a little uncomfortable the nurses’ main focus seemed to be on the computer and not on the patient lying in the bed. Brown (2011) agrees that individuals are continuously challenged with advancements in technology that can

In observation, (Fahnestock, McComb, & Deshmukh, 2013) stated "Information technologies are transforming the way healthcare is delivered. Innovations such as computer-based patient records, hospital information systems, computer-based decision support tools, community health information networks and new ways of distributing health information.” (p.3.2). In the sector of delivering healthcare using technology, has made it easier for healthcare professionals to access medical records, digitization of prescriptions and view test results. With the use of high-performance devices being used in the hospital, helps to make the jobs of healthcare professionals a little easier. As well as relieve anxiety from anxious patients that may be awaiting lab results to come back. Therefore, IT devices and services has been and continues to be a tremendous help and game changer for the healthcare system. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to help shape and reform the healthcare

In today's world of developing technology, nurses are often required to stay up-to-date with current information systems. A typical day of practice would likely begin by starting up a computer and checking for staff news updates. The day would consist of multiple patient appointments. During each appointment, a nurse will interact with information systems several times whether it is a hand held device or a computer entry to an electronic health record. One of the major challenges healthcare faces today is the time spent with bedside patient care vs time spent using electronic devices. I have heard many experiences regarding the decline of bedside patient care. Because of the technology dependency, nurses are becoming less personal and communicable

The goal of this literature review is to increase our knowledge about technology use in practice and to identify where there is need for improvement. Information technology seems to be a widely discussed topic these days and most nurses have no clear idea how it can transform the way we do things on an every day basis. We will also look at the impact technology has on nursing, patients, and colleagues. We will then focus on a specific nursing setting, in this case the emergency room. This literature review is organized to grow on each independent section so that you, the reader, can form your own opinion, but take with you the universal understanding of how information technology will lead us down a new and exciting career path.

This paper will identify the use of Electronic Health Records and how nursing plays an important role. Emerging in the early 2000’s, utilizing Electronic Health Records have quickly become a part of normal practice. An EHR could help prevent dangerous medical mistakes, decrease in medical costs, and an overall improvement in medical care. Patients are often taking multiple medications, forget to mention important procedures/diagnoses to providers, and at times fail to follow up with providers. Maintaining an EHR could help tack data, identify patients who are due for preventative screenings and visits, monitor VS, & improve overall quality of care in a practice. Nurse informaticists play an important role in the

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)

Patton-Fuller Community Hospital is a nonprofit Healthcare organization in the city of Kelsey that has provided quality

The information technology is changing the world at deviate speed and evident in the healthcare system. The integration of new technologies within the system are emerging the change in nursing practice and improvement of patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on the implemented in nursing practice strategies and contribution of information technology to the development of new healthcare system.