Advantages and Disadvantages of an Electronic Health Record
Technology has tremendously impacted the world and has brought about many changes, especially to those in the medical field. Prior to having such an advanced technological based society, medical charts were all on paper. With the advancement of technology, Electronic Health Records were created. According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society(HIMSS, 2012-2014), the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting. Included in this information are patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. The Electronic Health Record has the potential to change the health care world. This system allows members of the medical team to have information related to their various patients at the level of their convenience. There are many advantages and disadvantages to the EHR and all of these risks and benefits are taken into consideration when establishing its use. It is vital to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the EHR in order to determine if the benefits of the system outweigh the risks.
Advantages of an EHR
There are many advantages when using the Electronic Health Record (EHR) in the medical field. Some of these benefits are legibility and prevention of medication errors. Legibility is extremely important when it comes to patient documentation and relation of patient information. The risk for error is increased when documentation is illegible. Some of the basic benefits associated with EHRs include being able to easily access compu...
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...elp them maintain and expand their knowledge.
Conclusion
There are many advantages and disadvantages to the EHR and all of these risks and benefits are taken into consideration when establishing its use. It is vital to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the EHR in order to promote growth within the medical team and patient care. Technology adoption, training, and upgrades can be expensive but the benefits of the EHR outweigh cost. Technology is essential when optimizing the level of patient care and expanding/ growing within a company. It reduces errors and promotes effective learning. EHRs will help the members of the medical team deliver the highest level of patient centered care. Even though the training behind the use of the system might take up time and the cost to establish the system might be high, the benefits of the EHR outweigh the risks.
For years now, the healthcare system in the United States have managed patient’s health records through paper charting, this has since changed for the better with the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. This type of system has helped healthcare providers, hospitals and other ambulatory institutions extract data from a patient’s chart to help expedite clinical diagnosis and providing necessary care. Although this form of technology shows great promise, studies have shown that this system is just a foundation to the next evolution of health technology. The transformation of EMR to electronic heath record system (EHR) is the ultimate goal of the federal government.
There are three steps that are needed to document soft returns: Identifying a process improvement opportunity, create a formula to calculate the benefits, and determine the costs of the process and the net benefits. Besides the three steps, there are various benefits for implementing EHR, such as improving the safety, quality, effectiveness and efficiency of care to meet patients ' expectations (satisfaction). In other words, the contribution of EHR in health systems can enhance organizations ' performance (Smith, 2009).
Thus, reducing administrative work gives an opportunity to clinicians to spend more time with their patients. Through health informatics, some medical procedures can be automated, saving money for the health care budget. Research by Blumenthal and Tavenner (2010) states that, “The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States is inevitable. EHRs will improve caregivers' decisions and patients' outcomes. Once patients experience the benefits of this technology, they will demand nothing less from their providers.
Historically, physicians and nurses documented patients’ health information using paper and pencil. This documentation created numerous errors in patients’ medical records. Patient information became lost or destroyed, medication errors occur daily because of illegible handwriting, and patients had to wait long periods to have access to their medical records. Since then technology has changed the way nurses and health care providers care for their patients. Documentation of patient care has moved to an electronic heath care system in which facilities around the world implement electronic health care systems. Electronic health records (EHR) is defined as a longitudinal electronic record of
Did you ever think about how much time is spent on computers and the internet? It is estimated that the average adult will spend over five hours per day online or with digital media according to Emarketer.com. This is a significant amount; taking into consideration the internet has not always been this easily accessible. The world that we live in is slowly or quickly however you look at it: becoming technology based and it is shifting the way we live. With each day more and more people use social media, shop online, run businesses, take online classes, play games, the list is endless. The internet serves billions of people daily and it doesn’t stop there. Without technology and the internet, there would be no electronic health record. Therefore, is it important for hospitals and other institutions to adopt the electronic health record (EHR) system? Whichever happens, there are many debates about EHR’s and their purpose, and this paper is going to explain both the benefits and disadvantages of the EHR. Global users of the internet can then decide whether the EHR is beneficial or detrimental to our ever changing healthcare system and technology based living.
Portability can improve patient care. Patients no longer have to “tote” their cumbersome medical records around anymore. EHR’s give physicians and clinicians access to critical healthcare information in the palm of their hand, which ultimately leads to improved patient care outcomes. EHR’s also provide security to vital medical and personal healthcare information. Organizations like HIPPA defines policies, procedures and guidelines for preserving the privacy and security of discrete distinguishable health information (HHS.gov,
According to HIMSS The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting. It includes information from patient demographics, medications, to the laboratory reports. Introduction of Electronic Medical Records in healthcare organizations was to improve the quality care and to lessen the cost by standardizing the means of communication and reducing the errors. However, it raises the “eyebrows” of many when it comes to patient confidentiality and privacy among healthcare organization.
The result is that the volume of data and its management is a burden on the provider and his/her staff. Eventually, as EHR use becomes usual, patients will begin to recognize enhanced healthcare results.
An electronic health record (EHR), or electronic medical record (EMR), refers to the systematized collection of patient and population electronically-stored health information in a digital format. It details medical problems, medications, vital signs, patient history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports, progress notes .These records can be shared across different health care settings. It resides on an enterprise information systems and is exchanged via electronic networks.EHRs may include a range of data, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics like age and weight, and billing information.why is it needed? It seeks to be a complete record of a patient that can follow him/her from setting to setting increasing knowledge and consistency. It allows providers to obtain a complete picture of a patient and allows firms to automate and streamline workflows. It could improve patient and financial outcomes via evidence-based decisions, quality management, data mining, tracking, and reporting.
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 adaptation, utilization, and functionality of an EHR. The impact the EHR could have on a general population is invaluable; therefore, it needs special attention from a trained professional.
... goals for e-Health, EHR's and PCEHR’s. They give different visions for the consumer, the provider and health care managers. For the consumer they hope to give them the capability to better manage their own health through dependable and accredited sources of health information, technology enabled access to a broader range of health services from rural and remote communities and to be able to rely on the health system to effectively organize their care and treatment activities. For the provider, they will have a complete view of consumer health information at point of care, they will be able to share information electronically in a timely and secure way, be able to transfer information to different locations and to be able to effective monitor information about patients and having the ease of interacting with patients and other professionals, no matter where they are.
In the 2004 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush stated “within the next 10 years, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) will ensure that complete health care information is available for most Americans at the time and place of care (U.S. Government)”. In order to encourage the widespread implementation of EHRs and to overcome the financial barrier to doing so, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 set aside $27 billion in incentives to be distributed over a ten-year period for hospitals and healthcare providers to adopt the meaningful use of EHRs (Encinosa, 2013). In 2011, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) implemented the Meaningful Use (MU) Incentive Program. In order to qualify for incentive payments under MU, providers must attest to meeting specific quality measures thresholds each year consisting of three stages with increasing requirement at each stage.
Electronic health records is medical information recorded on computers, the data consists of a variety of data, medical history, medication, allergies, diagnoses, immunizations, labs, radiology, vital signs, billing information, and personal statistics weight and age. The EHR is designed to help with medical errors. It helps reduce errors with allergies to a medication. Also help with reading legibility and eliminate the lost forms and paperwork. It allows for the patients history to be viewed by several doctors. Doctors or nurses can update information on your record.
Over the last several years, electronic medical records are becoming more prominent in health care facilities, replacing traditional written records. As many electronics are becoming more prevalent with the invention of numerous smartphones and tablet devices, it seems that making medical records available electronically would be appropriate for the evolving times. Even though they have been in use to some extent for many years, the “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has brought paperless documentation into the spotlight” (Eisenberg, 2010, p. 8). The systems of electronic medical records mainly consist of clinical note taking, prescription and medication documentation,