Electronic health records

Electronic health records

Electronic health records are the technological and electronic version of maintaining medical records and history. The provider maintains them over a specific period; several electronic records include demographics, problems, medications, notes, immunizations, and radiology reports. Electronic health records are important in the process of nursing practices. They have replaced the traditional way of maintaining the client’s data. They also improve the progress and process of patient care.  The post contains the importance of well as a brief history. It also contains the pros and cons and a brief overview of EHR practice in society.

History of EHR

In the past, medical records were stored in papers before the year 1960. Lab reports, diagnoses, medication, and visit notes were all maintained and written using paper sheets bound together inpatient care records. However, the electronic health system developed in the year 1960 that was named information system (Florence, 2016). Other engineering and technology companies initialized their processes of maintaining medical records systems in universities and hospitals. The federal government started utilizing and facilitating electronic systems documentation in hospitals supported by veteran affairs department. In the 1980s, more focus efforts were put upon increasing the implementations of electronic health records among the hospital practices.

There are several advantages to electronic health records. They are essential tools in improving the health status and medical approaches of patients. They assist medical providers in managing better care management for their patients. They are known to erase errors made since the history of clients can be easily retrieved. They also improve the interaction between the care provider and the patient and the overall healthcare convenience. Nurses and medical providers can share securely the information of patients using electronic records systems.

However, there are still several cons associated with the utilization of electronic health records. The electronic records are prone to security and privacy breaches. The IT staff may make several mistakes and thus lead to the patients’ wrong treatment (Hossain et al., 2019). Besides, the patient may be frightened by his medical history due to misinterpretation of the file entry. The electronic health records are associated with malpractice and liability concerns. Medical data can get lost and destroyed during the transition from paperwork to the computerized electronic recording systems. Doctors are usually responsible if they fail to access a patient’s data since they handle all the information at their disposal.

There are several types of EHR systems available in society today. AdvancedMB is a type that works with comprehensive electronic records attempting every situation. Kareo Clinical is another type of working with electronic health records for smaller medical institutions’ electronic health system. Carecloud charts are utilized for easy electronic health interface for all sizes of data. Mobile suit is a full mobile electronic health recording systems application. Ipatientcare EHR is a customized cloud-based recording system.

While using electronic health systems, healthcare providers need to consider several ethical implications (Alamri, 2018). They must be aware of potential data breaches that may occur in the patient data. The breach can make information to be available to other parties with no authorization or consent. They need to consider the confidentiality and privacy of their client. Information should not be disclosed to other individuals who have no formal relationship with the patient.  Another ethical consideration is the issue of system implementation. Health care organizations face the challenge of implementing electronic recording systems. Poor utilization may lead to providers’ frustration, loss of confidence by patients, waste of resources, and patient safety issues. The implementation and development of EHR require adequate funding and participation of individuals who include technology experts, educators, healthcare providers, and consultants.

References

Hossain, A., Quaresma, R., & Rahman, H. (2019). Investigating factors influencing the physicians’ adoption of electronic health record (EHR) in Bangladesh’s healthcare system: An empirical study. International Journal of Information Management, 44, 76-87.

Florence, F. O. (2016). Current roles and applications of the electronic health record in the healthcare system. International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences, 5(12), 48-51.

Alamri, A. (2018). Ontology middleware for the integration of IoT healthcare information systems in EHR systems. Computers, 7(4), 51.