For over ten years the healthcare field has been calling for a new way to make the quality of healthcare for all Americans more efficient and safe. That is when the idea of EMR’s came about. Electric Medical Records are used to input and retrieve a patient’s medical record for healthcare providers. It includes people, data, rules, procedures and processing and storage devices. There is a debate whether the use of EMR’s are beneficial or not. There are many benefits of the EMR such as having a more complete and legible information; it also cuts down time spent on tracking physician’s orders over the phone. There are also some disadvantages to the EMR such as fewer physicians to patient communication and the cost is tremendous. Aside from the …show more content…
Financial barriers present an important issue for implementation of Electronic Medical Record. New technology and equipment are expensive to implement, maintain and use. While Electronic Medical Record could effectively for doctors and other caregivers are more convenient in creating, and updating the medical records of patients, the cost is too much to buy the equipment in command to record and securely store patients’ data. Many health care providers do not have enough knowledge and/or experience from using those electronic devices in that capacity; they need to have specific training. Therefore, Kazley (2009) pointed out that the small hospital can be managing efficiency by the EMR. However, the medium and the larger hospitals cannot perform well because the new technologies are so expensive and difficult to manipulate (pp 4,10,34). Furthermore, Liu illustrates that the electronic medical record is important for quality of care, but at the same time, there can be obstacles in implementing EMR due to financial problems—it is too expensive to manage. The physician’s encouragements pose the main impact where they accept the price of EMR, but implementing and …show more content…
The VistAWeb method of accessing Veteran’s medical information gives up to date data from any data warehouse. Hurricane Katrina separated thousands of evacuees from not only their loved ones, but also from their medical providers and charts, leaving them distraught and hopeless. However, the outcome for enrolled veterans was a little different. Authorized users to the VA network were able to access complete electronic records from the VistA system. Health care data were transmitted to more than 2,300 users at more than 200 VA sites of care in 48 states and the District of Columbia (American Journal of Public Health, S138). The VA used data retrieved from records of inpatient stays and outpatient visits to provide care accordingly. Disasters like Hurricane Katrina are not stoppable, but the experiences and lessons we learn as a society can help us prepare for what is to come next. It is important that we move forward with upcoming advances in technology. The use of electronic medical records is so significant, they can prevent compromised patient safety and allow us to provide the appropriate care needed daily and in times of
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.
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
The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) continues to make an impact on nursing and patient care throughout the country. As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, all public and private healthcare providers were required to implement electronic health records in their facilities by January 1, 2014. By demonstrating “meaningful use” of the electronic medical record, facilities are able to maintain Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement levels. Providers who show that they are meeting the “meaningful use” criteria during EHR use will receive an incentive payment from Medicare and Medicaid. “Meaningful use” is “using certified technology in EHR implementation to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities; engage patients and families; improve care coordination; and maintain privacy and security of patient health information” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013).
The case study by Elizabeth Layman (2011) is a very comprehensive compilation of the implementation of electronic health records, in relation to the Health Information Services Departments. Through this study Layman documents the conditions to be implemented to achieve satisfactory application of the change-over from the conventional pen and ledger system to computer documentation of patient’s records maintained by health networks.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Electronic Medical Records (EMR), affects healthcare delivery. I will discuss the positives and negatives this issue has on healthcare and how it effects the cost and quality for healthcare services. In addition, I will identify any potential trade-offs to cost or quality. Lastly, I will discuss how the EMR affects my job as well as any challenges or opportunities this issue presents.
Healthcare professionals associated with medical billing and coding know the progress the technology has made so far. In the last few decades, medical billing and coding has switched from being a paper-based system to a computerized format. Under HIPAA laws, medical practitioners had to develop new software in order to send out electronic bills. With the advent of electronic medical records (EMR), with one touch of a button, doctors, Nurse Practitioners and PAs can gain access to all the care a patient has ever received from every healthcare facility the patients visited previously and can figure out possible illnesses. This enables statistical documentation of the population as a whole as well. EMR can also make the healthcare system more transparent and allow integration with reimbursement data. As the healthcare system changes, this will prevent unnecessary costs and make it easier to get the reimbursements needed to treat a patient.
The transformation of paper based health record to electronic health record is not an easy step for any providers or organizations but is a major step in the process of providing improved and efficient patient care. Every healthcare organization should have the vision of adopting EHR because it provides numerous benefits not only to providers but also to patient. It is the vision of every healthcare provider to offer the best health care possible. So implementation of EHR is a necessity.
Miller, R., & Sim, I. (2004). Use of electronic medical records: Barriers and solutions. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/23/2/116.short
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,
Our clinical knowledge is expanding. The researcher has first proposed the concept of electronic health record (EHR) to gather and analyze every clinical outcome. By late 1990s computer-based patient record (CPR) replaced with the term EHR (Wager et al., 2009). The process of implementing EHR occurs over a number of years. An electronic record of health-related information on individual conforms interoperability standards can create, manage and consult with the authorized health professionals (Wager et al., 2009). This information technology system electronically gather and store patient data, and supply that information as needed to the healthcare professionals, as well as a caregiver can also access, edit or input new information; this system function as a decision support tools to the health professionals. Every healthcare organization is increasingly aware of the importance of adopting EHR to improve the patient satisfaction, safety, and lowering the medical costs.
An electronic medical record is a digital version of a paper chart that contains all of a patient's medical history from one practice. The benefits of Electronic Medical Records are that it includes the medical and treatment history of the patients in one method. An EMR is more beneficial than paper records because it allows providers to track data over time. It can identify patients who are due for preventive visits and screenings. Electronic Medical Records are a digital equivalent of charts used in the healthcare profession.
In 1960s, as clinical care became more complex, providers realized that in certain situations the patient’s complete health history would not be accessible to them. The availability of comprehensive medical information when needed has paved the way for innovation of storing patient’s information electronically. Improvement of patient care was and is the catalyst for the electronic health record (EHR) [3].
The adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems offers a number of substantial benefits, including increased quality of care, better efficiency and productivity, and financial incentives. Now a days it has become extremely important for healthcare organizations to acquire the appropriate tools, infrastructure, and techniques to manage and use the electronic medical data effectively. The existing medical surveillance systems use EHR to reach a deeper understanding of the medical problems and improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. In the literature, EHR is also referred as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Electronic Patient Records (EPR), and Personal Health Record (PHR).
Using Electronic Health Records are beginning to be the next major innovation in the continuation of the progression of healthcare to strengthen the bonds between clinician facilities and patients, by providing better decisions and provide proper care to an
Ragavan, V. (2012, August 27). Medical Records Pals Malaysia : 17 Posibble Reasons How Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Might Support Day-to-Day Patient Care. Retrieved from Medical Records Pals Malaysia: http://mrpalsmy.wordpress.com/category/emr/