Technological Advancements In Health Care

Technological advancements in health care are helping facilities work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Accepting these changes can help physicians and the like provide the best care to patients. One such technological advancement is the conversion from paper medical records to electronic health records, or EHRs. EHRs provide higher quality care for patients by streamlining the transfer of information from different health care providers, making health records more accessible for patients who see multiple health care professionals, and by reducing mistakes within the medical records themselves. To begin with, electronic health records are composed of information from multiple health care professionals, so all patient information

According to HealthIt.org, EHRs enable patient health information to travel with the patient (What is an Electronic Medical Record, 2016). Rather than one health care facility having a physical patient chart, every health care facility a patient visits can input health information. A patient can also access and review his or her e-Health chart online. EHRs include clinical documents, diagnostics and tests, and other important medical information about an individual. Having all this information in one place makes e-charts more accessible to physicians and other health care professionals. In addition to effortless conveying patient information into e-Health charts, EHRs are easier for multiple health care providers and even patients, to access. E-health charts can be accessed by smartphones, tablets, and computers. That means if a patient is waiting on lab results or if he or she needs to check instructions on dosage for prescribed medication, he or she can simply log in to the patient portal and access information instead of trying to contact a physician. Explained by Ricciardi (2012), more access means more communication between patients and healthcare providers. Since all health information would be

One way to ensure privacy and security using EHRs is having a dependable way to transfer health information from a physician to the EHR storage software, to other physicians, and to the patient. According to an article written by Tsai, Leu, and Tan, integrating multiple technological barriers will, "securely protect the EHRs when these EHRs are delivered between the cloud database and the portable device so as to enhance their transmission security and patient care quality"(2014). So, ensuring that health information is transverse safely is an important goal. Better, more secure transfer of health information results in higher accuracy in a physician's diagnoses and treatment of a patient. Every patient is entitled to privacy by HIPPA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Since EHRs can be accessed by devices like smartphones or tablets, having multiple access points increase security. As noted by Tipton, Forkey, and Choi, assuring a patient of his or her right to privacy is the main objectives of EHRs (2016). These security measures include having numerous sets of PIN numbers or using another private patient information to access the EHR. The next step to secure EHRs is dependable storage. Electronic medical records are digitally stored medical information, but where can the information be accessed? Some researchers say storing health information in a cloud database