Introduction
Today, in the United States, we all live in an age of technology and science. The use of technology and science has revolutionized our way of life. There are few things in history that have influenced our lives more than a computer. Today, there cannot be any field that is absent of the influence of computer applications. From farming to rocket science, computers have a huge role to play.
The use of the computer has been on the increase for some time in many fields. Medicine is one of the many fields that have made tremendous strides in the twentieth century due to the advent of computers. Computers are used in medicine in almost all areas. Whether it is data management, diagnosis, or treatment, computers have there own applications. Everything we know today in medicine might not have been possible without the valuable contribution of computers.
The Role of Computers in Storing Information
Computers have been used as storage devices for medical information for many years. Computer-based patient records are good examples to prove the worth of computers as information storage. Due to startup and running costs, possibility for abuse, poor functioning, and the risk of loss of confidentiality, they were not used very much in the past. Now, they have become almost indispensable. Computer-based patient records have many advantages. They "have the potential to improve legibility, accessability, structure..."(Medical Informantics) the possibility of integration with telemedicine, and increased ability to collect health information.
Computers are used for scheduling and appointment keeping. They are used to keep track of patients' visits. With the help of word processors, letters are typed and sent to...
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...rt of medicine. Neither can they eliminate the need of human beings. What they can do is help us bring relevant and timely information to use on our care of individual patients. They can also help run the medical offices or hospitals in a way that makes good business sense. That is why many physicians have embraced the computer and made information technology an integral part of their approach to patient care. That is why they have been able to meet the increasing needs of the patents remarkably well.
http://www.medicinenet.com/cat_scan/article.htm
http://trc.telemed.org/telemedicine/primer.asp
http://www.vet.uga.edu/mis/what.php
http://www.mieur.nl/mihandbook/r_3_3/handbook/home.htm
http://www.mieur.nl/mihandbook/r_3_3/handbook/home.htm (Much info I got was from this)
If I forget we may want to think about getting rid of Advantages/Disadvantages sections
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,
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
In the modern era, the use of computer technology is very important. Back in the day people only used handwriting on the pieces of paper to save all documents, either in general documents or medical records. Now this medical field is using a computer to kept all medical records or other personnel info. Patient's records may be maintained on databases, so that quick searches can be made. But, even if the computer is very important, the facility must remain always in control all the information they store in a computer. This is because to avoid individuals who do not have a right to the patient's information.
This article addresses major aspects such as clinical trial, integrated decision support and guidance, inadequacy of paper record, and data entry. The reason that paper records are not a match for modern medicine is that they are not accessible buy multiple health professionals causing a delay in response to health care, confidentiality and security is a risk granted that anyone could physically change the record and it would become official. The author of this article predicted the basic electronic medical record features that are available today, back in 1999 and the features include integrated clinical workstations with the computational power that can assist with clinical matters, financial and administrative topics, research, and scholarly information. This report indicates that having electronic records can provide efficiency throughout the system of health care for instance the example presented in this article was the process of admission, discharge and transfer of a patient can be changed drastically due to it initially taking hours to going from in and out in minutes. This article will provide the foundation of EMR’s and how time for reform had come more than a decade ago and it’s time for reform once again. With the examples and strategic tactics provided, it is fairly simple to display the evolution of Electronic medical records from
The use of computer technology plays a vital role in society. The use of it alone has made different task easier, by reducing time management, effort, and overall cost in completing a particular task. With the widely vast growth of computer technology in every field of life; the health care services are experiencing an immerse digital progression by the adoption of electronic health record systems through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (Hitech Act).
Early computer-based systems were intended to replace the paper-based record, and were designed to collect, store, organize, and retrieve data related to a patients care. The goal that was set by these early systems, were to provide an increased quality of patient care, which is the same goal as todays EHR (Englebardt, Nelson, 2002).
...will benefit the patient as well as the treating organization of care. The patients benefit with the confidence, comfort and security of competent, continuous care. The treating organization will benefit by not having to worry about missing information to the puzzle of person and their healthcare. Therefore the choice of electronic medical records versus paper medical records becomes evident: electronic medical records make health care more efficient and less expensive while improving the quality of care by making patients’ medical history easily accessible to all who treat them. Electronic medical records ensures patients that they are receiving competent care while establishing and maintaining optimal health and best possible quality of life, living with a medical condition, illness and/or diagnosis, with everyone involved informed of any and all changes in care.
We can look at the patient’s allergies, their vital signs, and even their most recent weight which is important when we have a patient with Congested Heart Failure. Being able to share a patient’s medical record and all their health care encounters is so vital in the complete care of a patient. Being able to assess a patient’s medical record electronically is also important when it comes to prescribing medications because it can alert the provider to potential conflicts with other medications that the patient has been prescribed. And if a patient comes into the emergency room unconscious from an accident, the provider can still look up the patient and adjust care as needed. The electronic medical record is important in the transition of care of a patient from one provider to another. For example, when a patient is hospitalized and then discharged, they are asked to follow up with their primary care doctor within two weeks. With the provider being able to consider the patient’s electronic medical record they can see what care the patient received while they were hospitalized and vice versa, the emergency room provider is also able to consider the patient’s electronic medical record to see the care plan for the patient and the care the patient has been receiving from their primary care provider. According to HealthIT, Electronic Medical Records can reveal potential safety problems when they occur, helping providers avoid more serious consequences for patients and leading to better patient outcomes. Electronical Medical Records can help providers quickly and systematically identify and correct operational problems. In a paper-based setting, identifying such problems is much more difficult, and correcting them can take
In 1992, the company Hewlett-Packard (H-P) composed a video highlighting the future role of computers and communications in healthcare. The video—titled Imagine—was more so used to aid healthcare organizations in achieving an efficient platform, and to capitalize on their vision for communication technologies to be implemented in the day-to-day process, as Cailloeut explains. The vision of Electronic Health Records is the following:
Probably the biggest concern of having electronic medical records is whenever things are computerized, you have to take extra measures when it comes to protecting important data from unauthorized access. Companies will need to adopt extreme diligence in order to protect sensitive data from malicious hackers and cyber criminals. According to Mearian (2016), “Cyberattacks will cost hospitals more than $305 billion over the next five years and one in 13 patients will have their data compromised by a
Health information management involves the practice of maintaining and taking care of health records in hospitals, health insurance companies and other health institutions, by the use of electronic means (McWay 176). Storage of medical information is carried out by health information management and HIT professionals using information systems that suit the needs of these institutions. This paper answers four major questions concerning health information systems.
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.
This article highlights the creative technology and its uses in medicine today. There are examples and comparisons on the useful and destructive ways technology has impacted society. The author speaks directly about the benefits of improved technology in healthcare as well as a wide range of other fields. This source will help support my claims of how medical technology has improved by providing descriptive facts.
Maddox, Amanda. "Ways Computers Are Used in the Medical Field | EHow.com." EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the Expert in You. | EHow.com. Web. 03 Jan. 2012. .
Almost every device has some type of computer in it. Whether it is a cell phone, a calculator, or a vending machine. Even things that we take for granted most cars since the 1980’s have a computer in it or a pacemaker. All of the advancements in computers and technology have led up to the 21st century in which “the greatest advances in computer technology will occur…” Mainly in areas such as “hardware, software, communications and networks, mobile and wireless connectivity, and robotics.”