Electronic Health Records Pros And Cons

As life progresses digitally, people have become reliant on the ability of having access to endless amounts of information at the tips of their fingers, including health records. With the increasing demand for digital life, medical facilities are shying further away from physical paper records and documentation. Electronic health records (EHR) provide the function for all of a patient's past and present medical history to be compacted into one personalized digital profile, which can be used interchangeably throughout all medical facilities that one attends. The internet provides people with numerous ways to look into health care, whether that is thorough websites that diagnose, claiming to have all the answers, or simply downloadable health

Accessibility and convenience are two top highlights of EHRs. With the digital record, there is no longer extensive wait times for a doctor to get back to you or for anything that has been added to your profile to be kept secret from you. Joy Hicks, writer for Very Well Health, addresses some privacy advantages for EHRs: “Rather than paper charts being transported and stored where anyone with physical access may read them, access codes control points of entry,” all while being able to access the record in full anywhere at anytime, without the risk of anything being lost in translation. This allows for the information to be easily sent to different providers while serving as a constant security for oneself. EHRs serve as a resource for providers to access in case of an emergency to look into medical history and potentially problematic concerns, allowing for better treatment for the patients as the providers are able to make the most appropriate diagnoses and orders. While these digital records come into play in crucial situations they can also be accessed for more minor things such as to look up a future appointment date, or when a prescription is due to be refilled; this with the convenience of e-prescriptions that are sent electronically from providers to the pharmacy (National Learning Consortium). Coding and

EHR systems still have their flaws, and have yet to be perfected, but several precautions are in place to prevent privacy invasion, such as data encryption and the requirement to have firewalls. According to “EMR Privacy and Security”, one of the most effective measures used is data encryption, technology that “protects EMRs while they are being transferred and ensures that only the intended recipients are able to view them”, ensuring these records remain compliant with all HIPPA regulations. Errors can and will occur with both physical and digital records, but as digital records progress they will become more and more reliable and accurate. While these errors can potentially lead to lawsuits, that is determined by how effectively you use the EHRs and the willingness of facilities to use them to the highest