Electronic Health Records

989 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Electronic health records advantages and disadvantages essay

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.

Show More
Related

  • Current Status of the Electronic Health Records in the United States

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) System

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    Did you ever think about how much time is spent on computers and the internet? It is estimated that the average adult will spend over five hours per day online or with digital media according to Emarketer.com. This is a significant amount; taking into consideration the internet has not always been this easily accessible. The world that we live in is slowly or quickly however you look at it: becoming technology based and it is shifting the way we live. With each day more and more people use social media, shop online, run businesses, take online classes, play games, the list is endless. The internet serves billions of people daily and it doesn’t stop there. Without technology and the internet, there would be no electronic health record. Therefore, is it important for hospitals and other institutions to adopt the electronic health record (EHR) system? Whichever happens, there are many debates about EHR’s and their purpose, and this paper is going to explain both the benefits and disadvantages of the EHR. Global users of the internet can then decide whether the EHR is beneficial or detrimental to our ever changing healthcare system and technology based living.

    Read More

  • Health Care IT and Quality Health Care

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unfortunately, the quality of health care in America is flawed. Information technology (IT) offers the potential to address the industry’s most pressing dilemmas: care fragmentation, medical errors, and rising costs. The leading example of this is the electronic health record (EHR). An EHR, as explained by HealthIT.gov (n.d.), is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. It includes, but is not limited to, medical history, diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans. The EHR, then, serves as a resource that aids clinicians in decision-making by providing comprehensive patient information.

    Read More

  • The Electronic Health Record Mandate

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    “An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.” (healthit.gov) The EHR mandate was created “to share information with other health care providers and organizations – such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics – so they contain information from all clinicians involved in a patient’s care.” ("Providers & Professionals | HealthIT.gov", n.d., p. 1) The process has proved to be quite challenging for providers. As an incentive, the government began issuing payments to those providers who “meaningfully use certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.” (hhs.gov) There are three stages that providers must progress through in order to receive theses financial incentives. Stage one is the initial stage and is met with the creation and implementation of the HER in the business. Stage two “increases health information exchange between providers.” ("United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov", n.d., p. 1) Stage three will be the continuation and expansion of the “meaningful use objectives.” ("United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov", n.d., p. 1) The hospital, where I work, initiated the HER mandate many years ago. In this paper, I will discuss the progression and the challenges that my hospital encountered while implementing the EHR mandate.

    Read More

  • The Switch to Electronic Health Records

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this paper you will find that the transition from paper health records to electronic medical record is a transition that requires a lot of time and precise preparation and planning. Looking through the paper you will see that there are factors that need to be implemented. You first definitely have to have your medical records. Next you have to know the role that HIPPA will play in your transition because of regulation and violations. Then, you have to prepare for potential problems that you could possibly face. Next, you will see there are several things to evaluate from how long it will take to cost. You will see prices for workstation and the number of staff that you need to carry out your plan of action.

    Read More

  • Electronic Health Records: Annotated Bibliography

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will identify the use of Electronic Health Records and how nursing plays an important role. Emerging in the early 2000’s, utilizing Electronic Health Records have quickly become a part of normal practice. An EHR could help prevent dangerous medical mistakes, decrease in medical costs, and an overall improvement in medical care. Patients are often taking multiple medications, forget to mention important procedures/diagnoses to providers, and at times fail to follow up with providers. Maintaining an EHR could help tack data, identify patients who are due for preventative screenings and visits, monitor VS, & improve overall quality of care in a practice. Nurse informaticists play an important role in the adaptation, utilization, and functionality of an EHR. The impact the EHR could have on a general population is invaluable; therefore, it needs special attention from a trained professional.

    Read More

  • Electronic Health Record Implementation Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).

    Read More

  • Electronic Health Records

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 2004 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush stated “within the next 10 years, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) will ensure that complete health care information is available for most Americans at the time and place of care (U.S. Government)”. In order to encourage the widespread implementation of EHRs and to overcome the financial barrier to doing so, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 set aside $27 billion in incentives to be distributed over a ten-year period for hospitals and healthcare providers to adopt the meaningful use of EHRs (Encinosa, 2013). In 2011, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) implemented the Meaningful Use (MU) Incentive Program. In order to qualify for incentive payments under MU, providers must attest to meeting specific quality measures thresholds each year consisting of three stages with increasing requirement at each stage.

    Read More

  • Electronic Health Records

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Electronic health records is medical information recorded on computers, the data consists of a variety of data, medical history, medication, allergies, diagnoses, immunizations, labs, radiology, vital signs, billing information, and personal statistics weight and age. The EHR is designed to help with medical errors. It helps reduce errors with allergies to a medication. Also help with reading legibility and eliminate the lost forms and paperwork. It allows for the patients history to be viewed by several doctors. Doctors or nurses can update information on your record.

    Read More

  • Healthcare Delivery Issues

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Healthcare System And The Affordable Care System

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    The new healthcare technology that is spreading nationwide it the EHR programs that are being implemented and updated in healthcare organizations. Government policies are in place for societies protection and privacy, it also helps to create a place where healthcare information can be utilized to its fullest potential. ONC authors’ regulations that set the standards and certification criteria EHRs must meet to assure health care professionals and hospitals that the systems they adopt are capable of performing certain functions (HealtIt, 2015).

    Read More

  • EHR Implementation and Effects on Nursing

    2310 Words  | 5 Pages

    The federal government has encouraged EHR use in hopes that it will significantly improve patient care. There is the intent that electronic health records will allow any provider access to important patient health information no matter where the patient is, while “creating a comprehensive national electronic health information network that leads to a reduction in the duplication of tests, an improvement in the cost-effectiveness of interventions, and the ability to compile a comprehensive patient history” (McBride, Delaney, Tietze, 2012). While the implementation of EHR’s has good intent, an important question is, “How are the implementation of EHRs having an effect on emergency nursing and patient care?”

    Read More

  • Impact Of Health Information Technology On The Quality Of Patient Care

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Essay On Electronic Health Record

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of the Electronic Health Record is to provide a comprehensive, standardized and universal digital version of a patient 's health records. The availability of a patient 's digital health record provides health information and data for critical thinking and evidence based decision-making, aggregates patient data for quality assurance and research. The Electronic Health Record has been, "identified as a strategy for effectively and efficiently coordinating and maintaining documentation of patients health histories and as a secure method of providing more informed clinical decision making" (MNA, 2006).

    Read More

  • Electronic Medical Record

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    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/

    Read More

More about Electronic Health Records

Open Document