Electronic medical records (EMRs) are being used by modern healthcare organisations to standardise documentation, minimise mistakes, be more succinct in their charting, and ultimately increase efficiency and improved treatment results for patients.
Depending on the healthcare provider, industry experts have differing opinions on EMRs. In fact, physicians indicate that the introduction of EMRs into their practises has increased their burden. Although the goals behind EMRs are admirable, doctors, specialists, and nurses are often left unsatisfied.
What is Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
EMRs are systems that serve as an electronic version of a patient’s chart in a healthcare provider’s office and contain the patient’s medical history in that one practise, allowing healthcare providers to track data—such as blood pressure or vaccinations—over time, identify which patients are due for checkups, and improve the overall quality of care within the practise.
Yet, when used inside a healthcare organisation, EMRs have both advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages of Electronic Medical Records
- Standardized record-keeping for doctor notes, staff evaluations, lab findings, and so on.
- Patient records are accessible to all authorised members of the healthcare team (and records can be easily retrieved).
- Errors caused by misinterpreting handwriting or transcribing are reduced now.
- EMRs have built-in security and privacy measures that ensure only authorised personnel have access to critical patient data.
Disadvantages of Electronic Medical Records
- EMR systems may cost up to $30,000 per physician, and features like a patient portal or connectivity with a medical billing partner are often added on as extras.
- Devoting time to EMR training means spending less time with patients.
- Several physicians grumble about having to prepare charts, record test findings, and manage patient emails in various systems, which adds to their workload.
- Putting sensitive patient data on the cloud, as many EMRs do, exposes the data to hacking without adequate levels of security.
- All data may be lost if a technical issue occurs and your remote EMR programme does not have the information backed up.
- Workflow annoyances, such as having to enter less-frequently used medications or treatments that are not part of the standard selection process, or sharing the patient’s records with another provider who does not have access to the same EMR system, lead to workarounds that can cause confusion, potential errors, and HIPAA compliance risks.
Computerized Medical Records Are Inadequate When it comes to securely sharing patient data.
While weighing the benefits and drawbacks of Electronic Medical Records, it is critical to prioritise patients and their privacy. The widespread use of EMRs has played an important role in making personal health information (PHI) more accessible and secure. Nevertheless, since many care situations demand fast access to PHI, health professionals often choose the route of least resistance and distribute information through email and file systems, making email and file protection a cornerstone of any healthcare data security programme and crucial for HIPAA compliance.
Digital workflows and cloud-based technologies provide several benefits to healthcare businesses by developing healthcare software, but they also pose major dangers to patient security and HIPAA compliance. Traditional security approaches and EMRs may not always enable the dynamic, quick care cooperation required for contemporary health systems, leaving users unsatisfied and putting care outcomes at risk.
