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Communication Through Electronic Medical Records

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Communication through Electronic Medical Records Paper- based records have been around for many years, but with constant advancements in technology, much of information that once was recorded on paper, is now being recorded on the computer, in an attempt to eliminate paper-based medical records completely. Electronic medical records (EMR) are a replacement for the traditional paper charts. The main purpose of electronic medical records is documentation of the medical records containing the patient’s medical history, test results, care received, medications used, and any known allergies. This is very beneficial for many health care providers as well as their patients. Now doctors and nurses have the opportunity to evaluate and compare the patient’s medical history with each other; this helps them to accurately diagnosed the problem and determine the best plan of care for each patient.
Benefits to Patient Utilizing EMRs decreases the amount of time that is spent on paperwork and reduces the likelihood of someone’s medical records getting lost, misplaced, or misfiled. This helps to improve both the quality and safety in caring for a patient. After all, there is no substitution for having accurate medical information about a patient along with immediate accessibility within the health care facility (Dr. Bill Crounse, 2005). All of the patients’ information is stored in a main computer server within the health care facility. Most health care organization’s computer system is backed up daily to external hard drives which are kept both onsite and offsite to help prevent the loss of vitally important information in the event of unexpected damage to the computer or building. This significantly reduces the chances of the patients’ information getting into the wrong hands or violating any HIPPA guidelines. The electronic medical records kept within the health care

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