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The Pros And Cons Of An Electronic Health Record

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A patients medical history that is kept over time by a health provider and is found in an electronic version which reffered to as a electronic health record. Health records contain a patients admission, encounter, treatment and discharge (Davis & LaCour, 2014). Electronic health records go more in depth with information that is received from a patient under their care. There is more information that may be included in an electronic health record such as a particular provider, demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, immunizations, laboratory data and reports (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2012).

An electronic record and a paper record have similarities and difference. They both compare with important …show more content…

According to Davis & LaCour (2014), “one specific scenario highlighting the need for the EHRs occurred during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when millions of health records were displaced and destroyed, leaving patients without access to their medical records” (p. 66). Paper records are not as secure as electronic records are. Paper records are stored in file cabinet and electronic records are stored in database that have privacy settings to them. Elctronic records are also good for patients because a patient can logon to the database to see their records. If New Orleans would have used electronic records than many of their residents would not have lost medical …show more content…

Health records in the beginning can be challenging due to many reasons. Time consuming in the beginning can be a challenge to overcome. Accodring to Ajami & Bagheri-Tadi (2013), “Physicians do not take the time to properly become familiar with the available products, select an EMR, implement it, and then train to use it even though colleagues have invested time and realized great benefit” (Ajami & Bagheri-Tadi, 2013). Cost was another challenege that would be present and a future challenge. Hospitals that implement an EHR will need more IT personnel. With the EHR there are cost that have to be considered. We know that the services and purchase of an EMR are expensive, but some practices may not have a budget for IT personnel and other cost that come along with an EHR. Something interesting I came across is that most nonusers believe that there are more concerns with a patient privacy and confidentiality implementing electronic records (Ajami & Bagheri-Tadi, 2013). This thought is a challenege because of the patient information being stored in a computer and someone who is not authorized gain access to a patient

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We want a system that is both functional and affordable. There are many systems out there that look like they would be easy and cheap to maintain but in the end more time and money is spent on software updates and customer service and support. According to the Medscape EHR report 65% of physicians said that EHR systems improve documentation within their facility (Kane, 2014). While physicians say that these systems improve documentation and other clinical factors within their practice, 70% of them say that it decreases their face to face time with the patients (Kane, 2014). This reason is why an easy to use, easy to learn and easy to maintain system is most conducive to our needs.

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Interestingly, the findings from the review of literature shed light to the challenges nurses encounter with the implementation of electronic health records and identify areas for improvement that could be made in an effort to achieve the goals of the HITECH act. Based on the review of literature, overall, the electronic health record is seen as a positive aspect to assisting nurses in providing positive outcomes for patients. However, challenges still exist with the daily utilization of the EHR, with communication among healthcare providers and interdisciplinary teams. These challenges present nurses with great difficulty as they attempt to provide care to their patients. Because some nurses continue to struggle with utilizing the electronic

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The resources above expanded on knowledge concerning the definition, evolution, proposed outcomes, research and the technology of meaningful use of the electronic health record. Nursing administrators, staff nurses, and nursing informaticists all perform an essential role in achieving meaningful use of the electronic medical record to improve patient care. Certain authors referenced other authors proving that the health information technology field is indeed a tightknit community. The resources were well written from highly credentialed authors and were, for the most part, easy to comprehend. All of these articles were written for the nursing professional with the exception of resource

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Implementing a successful EHR takes thoughtful planning for the known and unknown factors that impact your daily operations. When most consumers buy a new car they don't intentionally consider all of the minute details in their daily routine determining factors, but the reality is incorporating an EHR into the business plan will dramatically impact the way a medical enterprise functions. Intentional Planning is the Key to Successful EHR Implementation While every organization has unique requirements and service delivery models,

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In her assessment of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA), Murphy (2009) discusses how its enactment provided unprecedented funding for the advancement of health information technology (HIT) which served to promote health care reform. Electronic health records (EHRs) by extension received a boost via incentivization for appropriate use in hospitals and ambulatory settings (Murphy, 2009). The benefits of EHRs include the ability to improve the delivery and quality of nursing care, the ability to make more timely and efficient nursing care decisions for nursing, the ability to avoid errors that might harm patients and the ability to promote health and wellness for the patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). An appropriate use of EHR

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EHR has its advantages and disadvantages of implementing new technology in the health care system, EHR can help improve collaboration, communication, performance, and decrease added work. The author believes that the incentives that the government is providing for physicians and hospitals to adopt electronic health records system will help improve accessibility to patient data, improve preventative health, and provide a collaboration from both patients and health professionals to increase patient ’s outcomes of their overall

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Electronic Health Records and Patient Confidentiality Technology has become an essential part of our everyday life therefore, it makes sense that doctors and hospitals get rid of the old fashioned paper charting and use technology to access patient records. Electronic health records (EHR) provide quick access to information, as doctors no longer have to wait for other providers to fax previous records to them. The accessibility of Electronic Health Records assist medical providers to make quick medical care decisions, by accessing previous care provided to patients including treatment and diagnosis. Quick access to information through EHR enables health care providers to treat patients faster as there is no need for records to be mailed or

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You need a system that can keep up with this ever changing world to give the patients the best care possible. There is new procedures, information, diseases, and advances in science on a daily basis and if you don 't have a system that can keep up with all of the changes, you can waste time and money along with the loss of patients. Patients need and deserve the best care possible and it 's up to the doctors to make that happen. Organization is going to be a key component in an EHR system as you need important information and fast in some instances and if you don 't have a well-organized system, it could mean life or death, in some situations.

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Some benefits to electronic medical health records for healthcare providers is the capability of more complete reporting that incorporates both clinical and administrative data. Pros also include operational efficiency, the capabilities to process and store data quickly, patient’s history, diagnostic test results and even medical imaging. The confidentiality is a concern when it comes to electronic health records. Identity theft can arise when unauthorized people get access to private and sensitive records. There is less communication amongst healthcare providers and the patient.

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Privacy of patients will be violated if the health care providers give out the information to a third party to whatever the reason is. “Instant retrieval and information exchange through EHRs improve care, but also create the risk of unauthorized use, access, and disclosure of private patient information, raising confidentiality and privacy concerns. Unauthorized access could also have implications for patient family members if genetic information is involved.” (Sulmasy & Lopez & Horwtich,

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Healthcare information management (HIM) professionals analyze and collect patient data, they ensure privacy, accuracy in managing and maintaining patient records and reports. Healthcare information management professionals are both skilled in information technology and management, they have the ability to sponsor and encourage the usage of EHRs and PHRs. Patients who are also consumers of the use of PHRs have been reported to have barriers in the usage of these technologies and have concerns about the privacy and security of their information. With HIM professionals they have the acquired skills to train others and reach out to those who are in disadvantaged and underserved areas who aren’t familiar or don’t have the proper accessibility and have limited resources to access health literacy and information needed to adapt to EHRs and PHRs. Healthcare Information Management (HIM) professionals have been recognized by AHIMA in defining the concept of electronic health information management in order to encourage the use of an electronic health record, how medical records and health information is managed and quality improved information management.

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We know that having electronic health records are a great thing, and that hospitals, physician offices and other medical providers love this feature in health care, but at the same time it can also be very scary to have electronic health records. One of the big things being, what if the software isn’t working right and a physician is seeing a patient but cant get into the system to read the previous records or see the labs that were just done. Sometimes you run into the problem of things being entered into the electronic health record not uploading the right way, and if that is an MRI, CT scan or X-Ray and the radiologist waiting for the image to show up to help determine what is medically wrong with a patient, this could become detrimental

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The ROI of EHRs article breaks down the importance of Electronic health records. Healthcare leaders need to have an open-mind about electronic health records to gain a better organized system. Health organizations spend billions trying to find a working system instead of changing to the electronic health records system. Most organizations are making their IT department play bigger role working along with physicians to make electronic health records a key component of healthcare facilities making EHRs an effective program. Electronic Health Records are important to improving the quality of care provided, being able to find a patients history of care at a click of a button.

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My experience with electronic medical record (EMR) is great. As a nurse it helps me access relevant patient information with a click of a button and guarded me from making medical errors. According Mason, Leavitt and Chaffee (2014), electronic medical record (EMR) has shown to improve patient safety, enhance quality, reduce workloads, and improve care coordination. Moreover, it captures information from laboratory, pharmacy, radiology, and equipment, such as EKG, smart pumps and etc.

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