...DB Post 9/27/2015 Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are becoming a part of the U.S. healthcare transformation because of federal incentive payments. Although the liability risk is increased for physicians, EHRs have multiple benefits and offer opportunities to improve care coordination and standardize clinical documentation. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) is the policy initiative signed into law in 2009 to incentivize health care practitioners on a large scale to implement and utilize EHRs. EHRs have key functionalities designed to enhance health information exchange, reduce errors and liability including clinical decision support systems and computerized order entry systems. A 2008 Harvard public health study of high EHR users versus low EHR users found that litigation risk was reduced. It noted that 5.7 percent of high EHR users had malpractice payouts compared to 12.1 percent of low EHR users. Outlined below are the unique benefits and challenges that the EHR presents for patients and providers. Patients Advantages: * Improvement in the quality of care, medical diagnosis and treatment * Reduction in medical errors impacting patients * Improved delivery of care including faster decision making and care from providers Disadvantages: * Patient privacy concerns * Centralized repositories heighten security risk for patient files and data breach * Increased opportunities for identity theft ...
Words: 626 - Pages: 3
...EHR Value in Medical Office Practices: EHR vs PPR Tonya Durham: L26388489 Liberty University Tamela Crickenberger 201520 Spring 2015 AMOA 203-D01 LUO EHR Value in Medical Office Practices: EHR vs PPR Many medical offices are adopting EHR systems into their practices, to improve patient care. The use of EHRs physicians and providers can develop an improved and complete patient information records. Electronic Health Records are legible, complete documentation that facilitates can accurately do coding and billing as well as interfaces with labs, registries, and other EHRs easily. While also improving their ability to make well-informed treatment decisions quickly and safely. Reliable access to complete patient health information is essential for safe and effective care. EHRs place accurate and complete information about patients' health and medical history at providers' fingertips. With EHRs, providers can give the best possible care, at the point of care. This can lead to a better patient experience and, most importantly, better patient outcomes. Practices also report that they utilize extracted reports on patient and disease registries to track patient care as well as facilitate quality improvement discussions during clinical meetings. EHRs Support Provider Decision Making EHRs can help providers make efficient, effective decisions about patient care, through: * Improved aggregation, analysis, and communication of patient information * Clinical alerts...
Words: 1146 - Pages: 5
...Technology has given health care providers the ability to communicate over distances to provide better care for the patient. Technology has made many differences in the health care community. “Technology has become a powerful communication tool in medicine,” (pg. 21). One new development in technology is electronic medical records (EMR) and electronic health records (EHR). This technology will allow health care organizations and providers to turn paper charts into digital charts (Garrett, 2011). Although most people use the terms EMR and EHR interchangeably, there are differences between the two. EMRs are the medical information and treatment history of a patient for one organization (Garrett, 2011). EMRs give the organization the ability to track patient data so the provider can determine which patients are due for checkups. The EMR also allows health care providers to chart and list blood pressures, test results, and vaccinations. This will allow the health care provider to monitor each patient and ensure the patient is receiving proper care (Garrett, 2011). One problem with EMRs is that the information is used in one location and those records usually have to be printed out to send to another health care provider. The EHR does everything the EMR does, but the biggest difference is that the information in an EHR can be sent from one health care provider to another. EHRs help provide information to everyone, not just the provider who obtains the information. The EHRs has information...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...Electronic Health and Medical Record in Home Health Nathaniel J. Reid University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee HCA: 700 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the electronic health record (EHR) and electronic medical record (EMR) in the home health setting in the United States. “EHR” and “EMR” are often used interchangeably. However, this paper will discuss the differences between an EHR and an EMR. It will cover the benefits and disadvantages of the EMR in the home health setting. This paper will also cover the potential costs associated with the use of the EMR in the home health setting. Finally, the paper will discuss the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of an EMR in home health. Outline I. Introduction a. Purpose b. Explanation of terms II. Background a. Home Health Care i. What is it ii. History iii. How it is changing b. Health Informatics in Home Healthcare i. History of informatics in HHC ii. Current use of informatics in HHC iii. Benefits of informatics in HHC III. Comparison of EMR/EHR a. Definitions b. Settings used c. Differences d. Similarities IV. Implementation of the EMR in Home Health a. Feasibility b. Cost c. Equipment d. Staff Acceptance V. Conclusion a. Summary of...
Words: 4413 - Pages: 18
...Information Technology in Healthcare Administration 5 November 2014 EMR/EHR Systems Between smart phones, tablets and the web technology has radically transformed our world. All of these advances have made it so that the healthcare system needs to keep up at a very fast rate. This has pushed healthcare facilities, providers to go onto and create the electronic health record/electronic medical record (EHR/EMR). We all have asked ourselves, why the need of EHR/EMRs? There are many answers to this one question, but one answer that stands out is very simple, EHRs has made it very accessible to a patient’s medical records and avoid trying to read poor penmanship that can cause medical errors. The patient’s whole medical history is there with the click of a button, medication/allergies can be crossed referenced between providers. Researchers have found benefits to having EHRs and those are clinical, organizational and societal outcomes. (healthit.gov) 1. Clinical outcome a. Improves the quality of care b. Reduces errors c. Improvements and appropriateness in patient level 2. Organizational outcome d. Standardized billing e. Operational performance 3. Societal outcome f. Improvement to conduct research (heatlhit.gov) The clinical outcome of the EHR has been most of the focus of the EHR. When we say clinical outcome, we think quality of care and patient safety. In the EHR there are six clinical dimensions researchers focus on but only three...
Words: 830 - Pages: 4
...EMR Course Fall 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Advantages of EHRs 2 a. Cost Containment 2 b. Empowerment 3 c. Improved Communication 4 d. Less Waste 4 e. Compliance 5 II. Disadvantages of EHRs 6 a. Lack of Standardization 6 b. Security & Privacy Concerns 7 c. System Infrastructure Issues 8 d. Risk of Liability and Patient Uncertainty 8 III. EHR Technology 9 a. EHR Benefits 10 b. EHR Types 11 c. EHRs Future Evolution 13 d. EHR Technology versus Handheld SMART devices 14 IV. Trends and Consequences 15 a. Aggressive Implementation 16 b. High Costs 16 c. Labor Investment 17 d. Opportunity Cost 17 e. Impact on Researchers, Policymaker and Educators 18 V. Final Opinion 19 VI. Bibliography 22 VII. Appendix I 28 VIII. Appendix II 31 I. Advantages of EHRs In an effort to reign in rising health care costs and increased health care disparity and inequality in the U.S., former president George W. Bush doubled the funding for Health Care Information Technology to 100 million in 2005 (The White House). It was part of a larger plan to utilize latest information technology to standardize patient and health records, which despite spending 1.6 trillion dollars, attributed to 98,000 medically related errors in 2004. The plan was part of his campaign promise and was reiterated in his January 20, 2004 State of the Union address when, President Bush remarked, “by computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and...
Words: 7955 - Pages: 32
...page………………………………………………………………………………2 * Introduction of Cerner Ambulatory * What is Ambulatory EHR…………………………..…………………………......3 * What is Health Information Exchange………………………………….................3 * Who is Cerner Ambulatory…………………………………………..............3, 4, 5 * What are the uses for Cerner Ambulatory………………………………………………5,6 * Advantages of using Cerner Ambulatory…………………………………………6 * Disadvantages of using Cerner Ambulatory………………………………………6 * Is the software easy to use by the common worker in a health facility…………6,7 * What is the legality, governance, and privacy of Cerner………………………………….7 * Legal Concerns with liability and other legal issues……………………………...7 * Benefits of using Cerner compared to other software available to health facilities….....7,8 * Inpatient EMR……………………………………………………………..............9 * Patient Management and Accounting……………………………………………..9 * Graphs of data………………………………………………………………..10, 11 * Accomplishing the implementation of Cerner from previous software or paper……….12 * Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….12 * Footnotes……………………………………………………………...………………….13 * References…………………………………………………………………………….13,14 Introduction Ambulatory EHR is an electronic health record system that works well in a physicians practice rather than a hospital. It works well in this type of facility because there are longitudinal records and internal. This means the practice deals with a lot of different pharmacies...
Words: 2078 - Pages: 9
...(Keszczyk, n.d.). Data analytics is used in various ways within the health care industry. Many health care facilities/providers are in the process, if not already completed, of converting from the archaic paper chart to electronic health records (EHR). According to Stacy, an electronic health record is “a digital collection of an individual’s medical information, an EHR contains not only diagnoses, records of treatment, and medication information, but other data relevant to a total picture of an individual’s health” (Stacy, 2013). A goal of the EHR is to allow a provider to readily retrieve notes, labs, exams, etc. from other providers for a mutual patient. Advantages and Disadvantages of Data Analytics The advantages of Data Analytics in the health care industry includes a heightened level of coordination of care between providers. Coordination of care consists of the ability for all providers to have access to all aspects of the patient’s care. A patient neglecting to mention a surgery or procedure done many years ago, not revealing all food or drug allergies, not remembering failed medication attempts, or not divulging full medication list to a new provider could prove to be detrimental to the care of a patient and even fatal at times. Electronic Health Records, in and of its functionality have made disclosing information about a patient easier. Other advantages include fraud detection The disadvantages of Data Analytics include how information is used or distributed directly...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...Advantages and Disadvantages of the EHR Over the historical decade, every major business invested heavily in computerization. Comparative to a decade ago, today more Americans buy airplane tickets and check in to air flights online, buy things off the internet, and some people earn degrees online. In spite of these developments in our civilization, many patients are given handwritten prescriptions, and not many patients are able to email their doctor or even schedule an appointment to see a physician without speaking to a live receptionist. Electronic health record (EHR) systems has changed the healthcare system from a mostly paper-based industry to a computerized system to assist providers in providing higher quality of care to their patients. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (aka “stimulus package”), was signed into law with an unambiguous purpose of incentivizing providers to adopt EHR systems. The HITECH Act requires that providers adopt EHRs and use them in an eloquent way, meaning using certain EHR functionalities associated with error reduction and cost containment. Some advantages of technology in our society today regards clinical, organizational, and societal outcomes. Clinical outcomes consist of enhancements in the value of care, a decrease in medical mistakes, and other advances in the number of patients that describe the relevance of...
Words: 697 - Pages: 3
...where electronic health record (EHR) comes in, Electronic health record (EHR) systems have the potential to transform the health care systems from a mostly paper-based industry to one that utilizes clinical and other pieces of information to...
Words: 787 - Pages: 4
...Electronic health records (also known as ‘e-notes’, EMR or EHR) have commonly replaced the conventional paper records used in medical facilities. EHRs are a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting. Included in this information are patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, and radiology reports”. Some of the basic benefits associated with EHRs include being able to easily access computerized records and the elimination of poor penmanship, which has historically plagued the handwritten medical chart. This technology can offer a more consistent method for open communication among physicians, nurses, labs and other clinical staff without relying on handwritten notes stored in a single-location, electronic health records can help with the time it takes to treat someone. Electronic health records have provided a solution to a range of health care procedures, have offered cost savings and benefits, and still have greater potential for improvement through future efforts. It is evident that the EHRs have shortcomings that are commonly noted and targeted, but they have solved many more problems inherent in previous systems, they are the ideal path for development and improvement for patients and healthcare providers. Electronic health records have allowed healthcare organizations to provide quality care all of its...
Words: 3962 - Pages: 16
... EHR Software Without being healthy, you can hardly enjoy other things, so Physicians and nurses are here to take care of patients. Therefore, while taking well care of patients, getting paid is also important for health care professionals. In statistics, the entire United States has a great amount of more than 1.7 trillion dollars allocated in health care industry. There are still many areas that in health care industry need to be improved. Medical billing process system is one of the big sections and directly determines the benefits of all roles in health care industry. The traditional of doing medical billing that is still being used by many small practices and physicians is considered time-wasting, low-cost efficiency, and error making to compare with new idea of EHR. Before the idea of EHR came out, when a patient visits a doctor, doctor will record medical procedure that has done to that patient and the patient’s diagnosed health problems on patient encounter. Then, the doctor has to hire someone deliver the patient records to hired medical billing company. After medical billers receive and file the patients’ doctor visits records to insurance, the whole process for a doctor getting paid is almost three or more weeks later after patient’s visit. Excluding other disadvantages, this is how complicate and time wasting the traditional way is. EHR stands for electronic health record is a record in digital format that is capable of being...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...WELCOME EHR The implementation of the new EMR system to the hospital will provide ease of information access, protected PHI, and help eliminate errors in our everyday use. IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION ACCESS Benefits Increase quality of care Bedside charting access Ability to access your patients records at one time All information in one place IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION ACCESS • The implementation of the EHR will open up the employee to gain access to all the patient records available within one system. This includes x-rays, labs, notes, care plans, etc. • With secured passwords available to each employee, the employ is able to review current and past reports to increase the quality of care for that patient. • Accessing the chart at bedside will help prevent wrong patient errors. PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION Vulnerability The wondering eye Hackers Curious employees PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION • The patient health information(PHI) will be more vulnerable with the fact that the computer screens either on handhelds or desktops are more easily accessible to everyone's eyes who pass by them. • The risk of hackers getting into the system is also a risk for PHI to be breeched. • Curiosity of employees shows to be a risk involved with EHR. Employees have the risk of entering PHI when they want some information on the patient, even when it is not their patient or relevant to that patients care. PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION SECURITY Firewalls Encryption...
Words: 1060 - Pages: 5
...Advanced Information Management and the Application of Technology C156/WTT Task 1 Teresa Miller Student id: 000273119 Proposal Our one hundred bed hospital is in need of updating from paper charting to computerized health records. In doing this, we will meet our goal of compliance with meaningful use legislation. We assembled a team of members to assist with this task and together we have narrowed the search to two health care systems. Those two systems are EPIC and Meditech and we will now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, with a final recommendation for our new healthcare system. Identification and Roles of Team Members/Expertise The first person on this team is the acute care nurse manager. The acute care nurse manager is a bachelor prepared nurse and is beneficial to this team because of her close relationship with staff nurses. She will have input from floor nurses and be able to contribute important information about charting from the nursing standpoint. The nurse manager will be able to assist with questions that staff nurses may have during implementation and training. This member is able to discuss what the nursing staff needs for adequate charting. She will be able to look at each computerized system and contribute a nurses point of view. The second team member will be the chief medical officer. The physician has the input from other doctors and will be able to answer questions for other...
Words: 3148 - Pages: 13
...RUNNING HEAD: ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD Electronic Health Record Unit 1 Individual Project Katrina Hurst HLTH242-1102B-04 Instructor: Sandy Sanders Introduction: Over current years various health care corporations have made the decision to transfer from paper based patient records to computer based patient records. There are several individuals who believe that there are too many safety measures and privacy problems that can be produced with the use of a computer program to maintain medical records. Nonetheless, those individuals who believe in the switch also believe that such a change allows for health care providers to provide more efficient care for their patients in the long run. Definition and Information Contained Within: A concise justification in respect of what an Electronic Health Record (EHR) is, it is said to be electronic documentation of patients’ health data shaped by one or many appointments within health care facilities (NTCC, 2010). The data incorporated in an EHR are the patient’s demographics, progression notes commencing from prior states of health, any and all medical matters; including what medication the patient is presently receiving or has received in the past, the patient vital signs, all the patient’s past family medical histories, any immunization, along with both all laboratory and radiology results dealing with the patient’s health. With nearly every computerized system, there are both advantages and disadvantages, and in the...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5