Introduction
Physicians and nurses were required to document every clinical detail regarding their patients. They can, however, quickly enter all of their information into the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system. EHRis available via smartphone or computer is the cherry on top (Rajkomar et al., 2018). Additionally, it enables clinicians to share information across sectors, giving therapy promptly and accurately. It has to maintain patient records, including their medical history, allergens, and lab expenses. This paper aims to explain the function, users, and benefits of EHRs in terms of improving the quality of treatment.
The Function of Electronic Health Records
The primary purpose of the health record is to store documents regarding patient care. Numerous technologies, rules, and processes enable the effective collection and storage of patient care information in conveniently accessible, safe, and high-quality formats. Apart from archiving patient care documents, health records serve additional critical tasks. Among these are assisting clinicians, nurses, and other providers with making diagnoses and selecting appropriate treatment options. Paper-based health record codecs constrain these clinical choice functions. The introduction of EHR systems will enhance the health record’s functionality as an interactive website for clinical problem solving and decision making.
Once consumers and healthcare professionals have a better understanding of the value of EHRs, their adoption has exploded in recent years. The government is also encouraging EHRs, as it seeks to modernize the healthcare industry by automating and adopting technology as much as possible to increase the sector’s efficiency. Additionally, EHRs see increased use as the healthcare supply chain becomes more convoluted, creating a demand for accurate, trustworthy, and reliable patient information that can be used to provide high-quality treatment to patients (Rajkomar et al., 2018). Finally, patients will no longer be restricted to a particular state for their healthcare needs when developing the IT backbone of facilities throughout the United States.
The user of Electronic Health Records
The most frequent consumers of health records are patients’ healthcare providers. However, medical records contain information that is used by a wide variety of different individuals and organizations. Managed care organizations, integrated treatment delivery mechanisms, regulatory and certification agencies, licensing agencies, educational institutions, and research institutes all use data collected originally to document patient safety (De Groot et al., 2020). Everyone who has access to a patient’s medical record affects that patient’s care somehow, albeit the reasons and techniques differ significantly. Certain users have access to specific patients’ medical records as part of their day-to-day jobs. On the other hand, many other users do not have direct access to patient data.
Ways Electronic Health Records Improve Health
Superior Care Quality
Clinicians benefit from EHRs because they enable them to quickly access patient records, delivering improved care to their patients. Additionally, they add to the efficiency and effectiveness of the practice’s operations and treatment. The majority of EHRs include health informatics capabilities that assist doctors in spotting patterns, anticipating diagnoses, and providing alternate treatments (Rasmi et al., 2018). Rather than depending on trial and error, these analytics consistently produce superior overall patient results. Patients can utilize these methods to exchange notes, send instant messages, and even video chat with their physicians.
Patient Data that is More Accurate
Medical data were initially recommended as a substitute for paper documents to facilitate the storage and retrieval of patient information. However, there is now a slew of new benefits associated with their use. Firstly, when documents are stored in the cloud rather than on paper, the chance of losing, misplacing, destroying, or modifying personal information is considerably decreased. With digital documents, it is possible to avoid handwriting errors and accessibility concerns. Physicians can maintain an accurate and up-to-date client file for other healthcare professionals (Keshta&Odeh, 2021). The electronic medical record can be used to connect all of the physicians and specialists involved in the patient’s treatment.
Interoperability
Medical practitioners can enhance continuity of care by integrating EHRs with other platforms, such as electronic medical records. EHR systems with portability are critical for patients who need to see specialists, control chronic conditions like diabetes, or are reliant on home care services or hospice care to recover or recoup. Patients should have access to clinical data to offer safe, timely, affordable, effective, and fair patient-centered care through interoperability.
Enhanced Effectiveness
With the use of EHR, doctors can save both time and money by providing more precise treatment and diagnosis. EHRs make it easier for doctors and nurses to see more patients each day by speeding up interviews and office visits while maintaining a patient-centered focus. Templates are incorporated into EHR that helps doctors log frequent patient complaints or difficulties(Rasmi et al., 2018). They can be customized to meet the requirements of a particular specialty or the needs of an individual practitioner. It is no secret that EHR systems are being invaded by artificial intelligence(De Groot et al., 2020). It aids doctors in the diagnosis and interpretation of patient records. Providers can now ask the sites via speech, thanks to voice recognition technology from a few firms.
Conclusion
Health providers benefit significantly from electronic health records. By eliminating time-consuming chores like documentation and billing, health care practitioners may enhance their income and improve the quality of their patient care. Healthcare professionals would be remiss not to use EHRs given the multiple government subsidies, which is why the uptake of EHRs has risen in recent years. It is anticipated that further attempts will bring more openness and accountability to the healthcare industry.
References
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Rajkomar, A., Oren, E., Chen, K., Dai, A.M., Hajaj, N., Hardt, M., Liu, P.J., Liu, X., Marcus, J., Sun, M. and Sundberg, P., (2018). Scalable and accurate deep learning with electronic health records. NPJ Digital Medicine, 11-10. Web.
Rasmi, M., Alazzam, M. B., Alsmadi, M. K., Almarashdeh, I. A., Alkhasawneh, R. A., &Alsmadi, S. (2018). Healthcare professionals’ acceptance Electronic Health Records system: Critical literature review (Jordan case study),International Journal of Healthcare Management,13:sup1,48-60.
Keshta, I., &Odeh, A. (2021). Security and privacy of electronic health records: Concerns and challenges. Egyptian Informatics Journal, 22(2), 177-183. Web.