The EHR system that Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, CA uses is Cerner EHR system. As with any new system, there are both pros and cons. PROS 1. Improves access to patient data. This is much easier and faster than paper files which can be easily lost or misplaced. 2. Improved tracking of preventive health tests – i.e., patient’s age cross-referenced with tests needing to be performed; also tracking when last tests/exams were performed. 3. Physicians are able to order tests, x-rays and prescriptions right away with reduces the errors of what is being ordered AND/OR the patient losing the paperwork. 4. Patients can email their physicians AND/OR physicians can email each other in order to discuss problems/solutions to medical issues. …show more content…
CONS 1.
Not all doctors’ offices and/or hospitals use the same system therefore the systems are not interoperable – they do not talk to each other. 2. The cost to set up the system (hardware, software, setup, maintaining, training, IT support and updates to the system) are extremely high. With this in mind, a small doctors’ practice cannot afford to pay for the complete system. 3. It takes time to learn the system slows productivity for the whole office. 4. Because the EHR system replaces the paperwork the doctor filled out, the doctors’ workload is increased due to more fields needing to be filled out, which can also increase the chance of errors. 5. Emails between the physicians can slow the process IF the emails are incomplete (i.e., not enough information in the original email or information is not clear). These scenarios would cause more back-and-forth between the physicians which would cause delays. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS/ISSUES 1. There is an increased risk of HIPAA violations due to accessibility of the personal information. 2. Auto-population of blank fields so that the person inputting the data into the system doesn’t have to enter anything into the field. The field may actually have data to put information into the field once in a while and may forget to do
so. 3. Using the CUT AND PASTE method to copy notes into the EHR system. The information may not be EXACTLY the same and may need editing. In conclusion, all EHR programs have their positives and negatives. It is just a matter of figuring out what system is the best for your organization before investing time, money and effort into getting a system.
• Provides a basic level of interoperability among electronic health records (EHRs) maintained by individual physicians and organizations
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
To begin, there are numerous advantages throughout the EHR system. Considering this, enhancing patient safety is priority in the healthcare industry. Reminders, alerts, and pop-ups are just a few of the safety features an EHR can provide. These items can prevent medication errors, by alerting a nurse or physician of a blood sugar that is out of range, or a medication with too high of a potency, such as a wrong dosage amount. Reminders can be as simple as an immunization reminder to get a flu shot. Another example could be a drug interaction between NSAIDS such as i...
“An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patient’s medical history, that is maintained by the provider over time, and may include all of the key administrative
The EHR is a computerized health record that will take place of the paper chart. The health care information will be available to all health care providers at anytime, anywhere. The record will contain medical history, diagnosis, medications, immunization, allergies, diagnostics and lab results; from past doctors, emergency department visits, school, pharmacies, and out patient laboratories and facilities (Department of health and human services, 2014). Health care providers will be able to access evidence-based tools to aid in decision-making. EHR will also streamline workflow, and support changes in payer requirements and consumer expectations. In 2004, “the HHS secretary, Tommy Thompson appointed David Brailer as the national health information coordinator to provide: leadership for the development and nationwide implementation of a interoperable HIT infrastructure, with the goal of establishing electronic health records...
middle of paper ... ... ficiency and effectiveness of care • Provides caregivers with clinical decision support tools • Reduces and possibly eliminates redundant / unnecessary testing • Improved reporting and monitoring of public health and related statistics • Provides a basic level of interoperability among electronic health records (EHRs) maintained by individual physicians and organizations • Hopefully will eventually reduce health related costs (HealthIT.gov, 2013) While the thought is good and outcomes still in prediction phase, the current reality is that there is still a hefty financial impact to be worked out. There will always be a safety and privacy concerns and long as new and emerging technologies continue to need integrations, and HIE will only work with long term political support and financial backing not driven by individual gain, but rather by collective collaborations.
Most patient portals are linked to one physician’s office, which means that most patients will have to log on to numerous medical providers portals. Lets take a family of three in consideration. They would have to log on the Pediatrician, the Gynecologist and the Family doctor patient portals to obtain their medical information. Although one of the benefits of Patient Portal is that patients can send questions by way of email. It may become a challenge deciphering what a patient is asking. There is also the risk of giving incorrect information in response to a patient’s question. Systems have to be set up using a delivery system that guarantees emails have been received, viewed and responded to. Another set of challenges is related to clinicians and staff who have concerns about managing online communication. Providers are concerned that e-mail and web would add to their workload rather than substitute for other tasks, and that many messages might not be clinically relevant. (Slabodkin, 2015) In addition, there is currently little consensus about the rules of patient-provider online interactions and the important role that can be played by staff in responding to certain types of messages. In general, patients are unaccustomed to online communication in clinic settings. Another important challenge is the growing digital gap in the community. Not everyone has a computer or even access to a computer. It’s hard to believe, but there is a
The access to information can be very beneficial in an EHR system. With all the patient medical files being integrated within the EHR, the physician will find it convenient when seeing numerous patients. They will access to these files whenever and wherever they are needed to make effective decisions for the patient. Better access to information also allows better communication amongst the providers.
Electronic medical records not only effect health care professionals, but the patients of those health care providers as well. However, nurses spend the most time directly using electronic medical records to access patient date and chart. Nurses now learn to chart, record data, and interact with other health care providers electronically. Many assume that electronic means efficient, and the stories of many nurses both agree, and disagree. Myra Davis-Alston, a nurse from Las Vegas, NV, says that she “[likes] the immediate access to patient progress notes from all care providers, and the ability to review cumulative lab values and radiology reports” (Eisenberg, 2010, p. 9). This form of record keeping provides health care professionals with convenient access to patient notes, vital signs, and test results from multiple providers comprised into one central location. They also have the ability to make patients more involved in their own care (Ross, 2009). With the advancement in efficiency, also comes the reduction of costs by not printing countless paper records, and in turn, lowers health care
Cerner: Cerner helps with a unique suite of digital solutions proven to streamline administration, lowers costs and increase patient safety. Solutions: • Patient
Studies have implied that, healthcare professionals who practice clinical features through EHR were far more likely provide better preventive care than were healthcare professionals who did not. (page 116). From 2004, EHR has initiated, even the major priority of President Obama’s agenda is EHR (Madison & Stagger, 2011). Health care administration considers EHR as the introduction of advanced technology which can improve patient satisfaction are can increase the financial incentives of the healthcare organization. Studies have pointed out that the federal policy is proposed to transform all medical records into EHR (Hebda & Calderone, 2010).
Sometimes, the patient’s medical history can’t even be transmitted electronically and instead must be physically carried from one healthcare provider to another. Not only is this even slower, but the same problems can persist such as data being incompatible form system to system. Then on top of that, if the data is in an physical electronic medium such as a cd or usb flash drive, the healthcare organization might not even accept it because of fears of viruses. When a healthcare provider is regularly dealing with emergencies, every one of their patients coming from a vast variety of healthcare providers each with their own system, all manner of incompatibilities can arise. Each incompatibility costs time and manpower to overcome, both of which are the most valuable commodities in healthcare.
Systems are built on peculiar challenges. In the health care system, one hospital’s local needs differ from others and so the setting of the system may not suit all hospitals if the default setting does not meet the demands of the current condition in the hospital in question. The EHR system is not free of challenges as unintended
The EHR system also performs a variety of specific specialized functions for each department that I wasn’t originally aware of. Essentially, the development of electronic medical records (EMR’s) systems first began as a means to document clinical activities for both in-patients and out-patients landscapes. It is also important to realize that they have evolved as the primary resource for patient care clinical tools towards medical
Mandl, Kenneth, MD., Kohane, Isaac, MD., Brandt, Allan, MD. (1998). “Electronic Patient – Physician Communication: Problems and Promise”. Annals of Internal Medicine, 129, 495 – 500.