Electronic Health Records

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Over time I have come to believe that Electronic Health Records or EHRs as they are more commonly known as are the future of all healthcare records. It doesn’t matter if you like them or cannot stand the sight of them EHR systems are beginning to replace paper based systems around the world. However many people do not know anything about EHRs. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to explain just what Electronic Health Records are and how are they used, as well as explaining the legal issues that could come up with their use as well as the future of EHRs. Electronic Health Records are essentially a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. However that is just the simple answer of what an EHR is. The truth of the matter is that EHRs are that and so much more. EHRs are a comprehensive digital file of all of a patient’s health information that can be accessed anytime and anywhere; essentially providing real-time access to records by all relevant personnel. These records could contain for example your contact information, allergies, insurance information, medical history, and immunization records among other things. Having this information in this format will help medical personnel by reducing the chances of errors being made, reducing the chances of having duplicate tests performed, and could improve your overall quality of care tremendously. Also by having this information all medical professionals could have all of the current information about the conditions, treatments, tests, and prescriptions you as a patient may have. This in turn could improve the overall workflow of the medical facility by allowing personnel to save time and concentrate on other matters instead of spending time chasing down records and files and updat... ... middle of paper ... ...dely accepted myth that medicine requires complex, highly specialized information-technology systems. This myth continues to justify soaring IT costs, burdensome physician workloads, and stagnation in innovation. That is not to say that there is not hope for the future use of EHRs. As more and more organizations implement EHR systems, healthcare providers will have better access to patient information, allowing quicker and more precise diagnoses. Having complete patient data will help ensure the best possible care. Patients will also have access to their own information and will have the choice to share it with family members and medical personnel securely over the Internet, to better manage care for themselves and their families. And even though setting up an EHR will require an early investment of time and money it will definitely be worth it in the long run.

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