What is an Electronic Health Record [EHR]? - Importance

What are the benefits of using Electronic Health Record [EHR]?

Doctors and hospitals are using technology more in the past few years to help patients and work more efficiently. One of the popular technologies in healthcare is electronic health records system. These systems are important in medicine which will make it easier for patients and doctors to access health information.

What is Electronic Health Records [EHR] ?

EHR system includes complete records of a patient's medical history. They include things like demographics, test results and prescribed medications. These records help healthcare providers make smart choices about patient care. It also helps to ensure they have all the information they need.

It includes the same types of information as paper records such as:

a) Medical history like age, gender and vaccination records

b) Clinical data, like body measurements and laboratory findings

c) Prescriptions and when medications were taken

d) Pictures like X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds and CT scans

e) Plans for treatment, notes on progress and results

Explain what is the importance of Electronic Health Records?

Electronic Health Records are crucial because they streamline and centralize a patient’s medical information digitally. EHRs enhance healthcare delivery by storing details like medical history and test results. They enable quicker access to critical information which reduce errors through accurate data management. It ultimately enhances patient safety and quality of care.

Care Quality and safety: EHRs can make patients healthier. A study in the Journal of Healthcare Quality in 2022 showed that hospitals with complete EHR systems had 18% lower death rates than those without. They can warn about medications that a patient is allergic to and possible interactions between a patient's medications which can reduce harmful side effects.
Real-Time Information: information is put into an EHR whenever a doctor sees the patient or gets a test result. Since records are updated right away they’re always up to date. EHRs also make it easier to get and share that information. Instead of calling a doctor’s office to ask for patient details, a provider with a password can easily look up their EHR.
Lower Costs: EHRs can save patients and healthcare providers money by cutting down on repeated tests and treatments as well as reducing paperwork. A study in the International Journal of Healthcare Management in 2020 showed that hospitals using basic EHR systems had costs that were 12% lower compared to similar hospitals without them.
Research findings: Information from electronic health records (EHRs) can help researchers study disease patterns and causes. For instance, some studies have used EHR data to find that people in areas without easy access to fresh food have higher rates of Type 2 diabetes. This information can guide efforts to improve public health.

What are the benefits of using EHR System?

EHR system improves quality of care. EHR system give healthcare providers fast and easy access to patient information which helps them make better decisions about care. EHR improve patient outcomes by checking for medication conflicts and improving emergency care. EHRs help healthcare providers avoid potentially serious problems by alerting them to possible safety issues, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.

Electronic health record helps to increase efficiency. EHR systems make healthcare organizations run smoothly. Also, there is strong evidence that EHRs offer a good return on investment.

Some usual administrative tasks that EHRs can help simplify include:

By automating scheduling: EHRs help avoid common errors and provide up-to-date information, letting providers reschedule appointments or send reminders to patients.
Billing: EHRs can lower the risk of missed or late payments by automatically creating and sending bills to patients and spotting issues like duplicate charges or wrong billing codes.
Patient communication: EHRs make it easier for patients to access their medical information and also provide secure messaging for them to ask their providers questions privately.

The EHR system helps boost patient engagement. EHRs help create a teamwork atmosphere between patients and healthcare providers. They make it easier for patients to see their health information. It gives them more input in their care. This secure access encourages people to take charge of their health and work more closely with their healthcare providers.

Using Electronic health record can help in reducing medication errors. Easy access to patients’ medical history and current medications helps doctors avoid prescribing harmful or conflicting drugs. This helps to improve patient safety and ensures doctors have the right information to make accurate recommendations. EHR systems help avoid medication errors by giving healthcare providers alerts reminders about medications. It allows them to prescribe medications automatically.

EHR system enhances data accessibility. One main reason EHR systems are widely used is their easy accessibility. They make it simple for both healthcare providers and patients to view medical records from any authorized device.

EHR helps to save money. The cost-saving benefit of EHR systems is debated because they are expensive to maintain. However, there are several ways EHR systems can save money in the long run. It saves healthcare providers money by reducing the need for paper – based system. Minimizing medical errors and in efficiencies can also save money.

What are the issues that nurses face with Electronic Health Records?

a) Spending time entering data can reduce the time a nurse spends with a patient. It is when the nurse has to look away from the patient to use a computer.

b) Several things can cause electronic patient records to have inaccurate or missing information, such as:

Forms that don't have all the needed sections to describe a patient's condition
Being rushed, which can cause incomplete data entry or the need to fix records later
Autofill that fills in fields with wrong information

c) The EHR system in one department or facility might not easily share data with systems in other places. To solve these problems, it's best to prevent them by using the same EHR system throughout a facility or organization and updating old systems at the same time.