EMR - Ruffner - medical charts - Operation
There is a shift towards use of digital equipment in contemporary times. Virtually all forms of paper documents are being replaced by electronic models. For example, the banking industry is within the brink of eliminating paper work from banking. The medical field is not far behind; there are propositions to replace the existing paper based storage of medical data with electronic means (Jacques, 2010). In fact, the use of electronic medical storage is already a reality in some places. This study will check the merits and the demerits of EMR (electronic medical records) and conclude that the potential advantages out weight the demerits.
According to Ruffner, in the future, medical charts will be replaced with electronic health records (Ruffner et al., 2010). He suggests that the move will make provision of healthcare more efficient that the current practice where paper charts are used. The EMR system is expected to ease transmission of medical records to the local database where it is only accessible by authorized personnel. For example, nurses often need to go after doctors to read the paper charts. However, with the new system, they can access this information from their stations, thus making their work more streamlined. In addition, the ability of doctors to communicate with more urgency where needed increases the efficiency of health care delivery to patients as well as workers. For example, proper coordination of the EMR systems should ensure all staff in an institution is conscious of their client's expectations. Changes are also updated instantly, thus increasing the efficiency of operations (Jacques, 2010).
[...] Importance of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Electronic Medical Records There is a shift towards use of digital equipment in contemporary times. Virtually all forms of paper documents are being replaced by electronic models. For example, the banking industry is within the brink of eliminating paper work from banking. The medical field is not far behind; there are propositions to replace the existing paper based storage of medical data with electronic means (Jacques, 2010). In fact, the use of electronic medical storage is already a reality in some places. [...]
[...] (2010, January Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law 2010- Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law 2010-2011. Retrieved June from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/vanep13&div= 17&id=&page= Ruffner, J. W., Brodie, A. C., Holiday, C. L., & Isenberg, T. H. (2010). Selecting and Utilizing Metrics for an Internet-Based Community of Practice. PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING, 54(16), 1254- 1258. Thede, L. (2010, March 30). Informatics: Electronic, Health Records: Privacy Nightmare or a Boon? [...]
[...] For example, hard drives are smaller compared to the conventional filing systems used in medical institutions. Ease of storage also corresponds with ease of retrieval. For example, physical location of medical files sometimes takes a lot of patient's time in hospitals. In cases of emergencies, the difference in time may be crucial for the patient to survive. Therefore, the ease of retrieval and storage is a major benefit of using EMR in provision of healthcare. Cost efficiency One of the biggest barriers to introduction of EMR is the initial cost of installation (Thede, 2010). [...]
[...] In fact, the opposition to electronic systems mainly arises due to privacy concerns (Thede, 2010). However, EMR actually increases the confidentiality of patient information, especially where sharing of medical data is not a feature of the storage. For example, it is easy for anyone to walk into a hospital and access patient information by simply reading the chart located in the wards. Where EMR is used, such charts are non-existent and the information is only displayed to authorized personnel. Therefore, EMR has the ability to enhance confidentiality of patient information (Jacques, 2010). [...]
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