...Electronic Medical Records a Cure for Health Care? Abstract In the United States, healthcare remains a top priority and is consistently part of the national public policy agenda. Political leaders and healthcare providers attempt to address issues of quality, access, efficiency and affordability. Solutions to these challenges are being pursued through a great variety of strategies and methodologies ranging from adoption of best practices of patient care to negotiated contracts between payers and Care Delivery Organizations (CDO.) (Gonzalez, 2014) This writing assignment will take a look at the adoption of Electronic Medical records and show the strengths and weaknesses of overhauling medical records from paper to digital. Context The purpose of writing this paper is to give me a better understanding on how information systems can help the medical field. However, it is important to understand that you cannot just overhaul the current system in place. There needs to be a process involved to get everyone at stake the proper training and information needed to undergo such a large transition. Introduction Electronic Medical Records are basically electronic versions of paper-based medical records. An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is essentially an electronic record of health related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff in one healthcare organization. Electronic medical record systems lie at...
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...Health-information technology, such as sophisticated electronic health records, has the potential to improve health care.1-3 Nevertheless, electronic-records systems have been slow to become part of the practices of physicians in the United States.4,5 To date, there have been no definitive national studies that provide reliable estimates of the adoption of electronic health records by U.S. physicians. Recent estimates of such adoption by physicians range from 9 to 29%.4,5 These percentages were derived from studies that either had a small number of respondents or incompletely specified definitions of an electronic health record.5,6 To provide clearer estimates of the adoption of electronic-records systems by U.S. physicians, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the Department of Health and Human Services4 supported our project to develop and test measures of adoption and to deploy those measures in a representative national survey of U.S. physicians. The goal was both to gather accurate information on current levels of adoption and to provide survey items that could be used to generate similar data over time on the diffusion of electronic health records and on physicians' perceptions of the effect of such systems on their practices. This report addresses the following questions: What proportion of physicians report that outpatient electronic health records are available to them in office practice? How satisfied are physicians who use such...
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...medical records. Every time you visit, your records are created or modified, and often duplicate copies are generated throughout the course of a visit to the doctor or a hospital. The majority of medical records are currently paper-based, making these records very difficult to access and share. It has been said that the U.S. health care industry is the world’s most inefficient information enterprise. Inefficiencies in medical record keeping are one reason why health care costs in the United States are the highest in the world. In 2012 health care costs reached $2.8 trillion, representing 18 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Left unchecked, by 2037 health care costs will rise to 25% of GDP and consume approximately 40 percent of total federal spending. Since administrative costs and medical recordkeeping account for nearly 13 percent of U.S. health care spending, improving medical recordkeeping systems has been targeted as a major path to cost savings and even higher health care quality. Enter electronic medical record (EMR) systems. An electronic medical record system contains all of a person’s vital medical data, including personal information, a full medical history, test results, diagnoses, treatments, prescription medications, and the effect of those treatments. A physician would be able to immediately and directly access needed information from the EMR without having to pore through paper files. If the record holder went to the hospital, the records and results...
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...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 and reminders * Support for diagnostic and therapeutic decisions * Built-in safeguards against potential adverse events Health Care Convenience Matters Providers with busy practices—and patients with busy lives—appreciate convenience in their health care transactions. EHRs...
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...Computer Based Medical Records Abstract In the medical field there have been a lot of technological advances and making health records electronic is one of them. The days of having a paper health record are almost obsolete. An electronic health record keeps a patient’s medical information and history on a computer which is accessible to more people in less time. I will explain how the continuity, communication, coordination and accountability of the electronic health record can help the medical office. I will explain what can be included in the electronic health record. As an advocate of the electronic health record I will also explain some disadvantages to the electronic system. Computer Based Medical Records Electronic health records are taking over the paper medical records in doctors’ offices and hospitals everywhere. Electronic health records will help physicians with the continuity of care of their patients. The communication between different doctors and hospitals and also within the office is much faster and easier. Coordinating the electronic health record is much easier. The system is laid out in ways that makes it easy to use and document and also find information when needed. Finally, the accountability of the system is excellent. The electronic health record will help physician’s continue care with their patient’s in a lot of different ways. The electronic systems allows for easy access and sharing of patients health records. (Chheda, 2005) A patient...
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...Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a 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. The EHR automates and streamlines the clinician's workflow. The EHR has the ability to generate a complete record of a clinical patient encounter as well as supporting other care-related activities directly or indirectly including evidence-based decision support, quality management, and outcomes reporting. A government-sponsored survey of the use of computerized patient records by doctors points to two seemingly contradictory conclusions, and a health care system at odds with itself. Skip to next paragraph A government-sponsored survey of the use of computerized patient records by doctors points to two seemingly contradictory conclusions, and a health care system at odds with itself. The report, published online on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that doctors who use electronic health records say overwhelmingly that such records have helped improve the quality and timeliness of care. Yet fewer than one in five of the nation’s doctors has started using such records. Bringing patient records into the computer age, experts say, is crucial to improving care, reducing errors and containing costs in the American health care system...
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...RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NURSING INFORMATICS & PATIENT SATISFACTION Daisy Michele Mattei University of Arkansas at Little Rock I will be discussing the relationship between patient satisfaction and the role nursing informatics plays. The expansion of health information technology may have an impact on patient satisfaction and outcomes either positively or negatively. More and more healthcare providers are using health information technology (nursing informatics), to improve patient care. I will also be discussing the impact of the electronic health record on improving the efficiency, safety, and privacy of healthcare today, along with the skills nurses need related to informatics and technology. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of healthcare quality. “Satisfaction is an attitudinal response to value judgments that patients make about their clinical encounter.” (Kane RL, Maciejewski M, Finch M, 1997) Nursing Informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice. (McGonigle D, Mastrain KG, 2012, p. 95-96) (ANA, 2008, p.1) The goal of nursing informatics is to improve the health of populations, communities, families, and individuals by optimizing information management and communication. (McGonigle D, Mastrain KG, 2012, p. 95-96) (ANA, 2008, p.1) Information technology has dramatically changed the way nurses work. It is clear...
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...Nursing: Benefits and Challenges of Electronic Health Records Abstract The Informatics Nurse plays a vital role in training and educating healthcare professionals as they move from paper charting to employing an electronic health record system. According to Zandieh et al., (2008, p. 758) research demonstrates that one of the biggest challenges for moving from paper-based systems to EHR is the perceived skills of staff and their comfort level with a new computer system. The utilization of the Informatics Nurse in the delivery of new EHR initiatives is a critical component in providing a successful outcome for quality nursing care. Nursing: Benefits and Challenges of Electronic Health Records Introduction According to Murphy (2010, p. 283) the Health Information Technology Act in 2009 has required Healthcare systems to implement the conversion of paper documentation to electronic health records. Throughout this process, the need for the role of the Informatics Nursing is growing. Many modalities including, but not limited to, standardizing records and computerizing patient data, all play key roles in the development of best practice. Although EHR, Electronic Health Record, will prove to be extremely beneficial, EHR presents new challenges to the nursing profession. One of these challenges is staff resistance and being able to provide sufficient technical training. This topic is of particular interest because...
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...Electronic Health Record Patient Portal Mary Kennedy Grand Canyon University Dr. Riyad Naser HIM-515 Foundation and Concepts of Healthcare Informatics Electronic Health Record Patient Portal The implementation of electronic health record systems is increasing at a rapid rate. The increases are due to the financial incentives offered by the Health Information and Technology for Economics and Clinical Health Act of 2009. Stage one of meaningful use mandates that patients be provided with an electronic copy of their health information at the end of the visit. Stage two of meaningful use requires that the patient has the ability to view their health information online, to download, and/or disseminate information about hospital admissions to their healthcare provider via a patient portal (Goldzweig, 2012). The patient portal goal is to provide information between the patient and provider. Examples of the information exchange are upcoming appointments, medication lists, laboratory results, referral information, and other information as necessary (GCU, 2013). This paper will examine the electronic health record (EHR) patient portal implementation in a small rural Indian Health System in southern Arizona. Currently, the EHR and the resource patient management system (RPMS), where most data’s entered, are fragmented. This fragmentation makes users have to switch between the applications in order to obtain needed information. The fragmentation creates safety issues that put...
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...Drawbacks and Benefits of Electronic Medical Records Mia M. Carter AIU Online International September 7, 2013 Abstract This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic medical record systems for the patients /clients and the providers. Since 2009 the Stimulus package was signed into law, which it represents one of the largest American initiatives to this date that is supposed to encourage a large widespread use of EMRs., (Nir Menachemi & Taleah Collum, 2011). Drawbacks and Benefits of Electronic Medical Records This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic medical record systems for the patients /clients and the providers. Since 2009 the Stimulus package was signed into law, which it represents one of the largest American initiatives to this date that is supposed to encourage a large widespread use of EMRs, (Nir Menachemi & Taleah Collum, 2011). Electronic Medical Records gives ways on various aspects of clients and patient’s care that is prescribed. This sort of storing information on medical history and health related information is being stored in digital format other than on traditional paper, (Henry Schein, 2013). Some ways provider’s benefits from electronic medical record system are evaluation and immediate retrieval at the provider’s and other qualified staff fingertips, (Henry Schein, 2013). Some other benefits for providers and other medically approved staff are operating and financial...
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...compliance status of Nightingale in Information management. The world has been continuously transformed through various technological advances in various fields. One of those technological advances has been a great adaptation in healthcare, which is the use of EHRs (Electronic Health Records). Accurate and complete patient information is accessible to providers to improve their ability to make treatment decisions in a timely manner. All the administrative and all the clinical data are accessible in the EHR (Dimick, 2012). EHRs are more concise and accurate than paper charts because it allows for quick retrieval of various test results, allergies, problems, illnesses, infections, and procedures that the patient may have had in the present or past. Charts rarely go missing and the EHRs have been very cost effective. Nightingale has incorporated EPIC, which is a Electronic Health Record (EMR) throughout their hospital. In order for Nightingale to continue to meet Joint Commission standards for Information Management they will need to concentrate on: • IM.02.02.01 Effective management of the collection of health information • RC.01.01.01 Maintaining complete and accurate medical records for each individual...
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...Problem Statement “Without the use of electronic health records can cause extra work such as, flipping through patient’s charts. Now, with the use of electronic health records all information is electronic and easier to access.” Before there was the use of electronic health records, there was more work for the staff. Things that were done that took up time was them handwriting prescriptions, flipping through patients charts to look at flow charts and to looking at data from other physicians. From the office using electronic health records made all of those issues go away. Putting information into the computer is easier for the doctor or staff. All the staff has to get used to the new system and see how it works. Research Question What are ways that our staff can practice to prepare for electronic health records? How does the use of electronic health records provide improved care to patients? It is important to know the ways that all staff need to practice to prepare for electronic health records. One way to do that is making sure all rooms are set up for the new system. Another way is putting the patient’s information into the computer from the charts. Knowing how the use of an electronic health record will improve patient’s care is something the doctor needs to know for their practice. If the system is not working for the patient’s, they might go somewhere else. Reference: How to Implement EHRs. (2014, March 20). Retrieved January 21, 2015, from...
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...discipline is practiced (Shea & Cavan, 2014). Before this course I had little exposure to nursing theory and its application in the clinical realm. I knew things were done a certain way but truly did not know the origin of the ideas that influenced current nursing care. During the completion of my BSN degree, I grasped a basic concept of nursing theory and studied the major theorist involved. It has been very enlightening to view nursing theory in another dimension and study the clinical implication of its integration in practice during this course. In the following analysis I will seek to establish the importance of nursing theory and its application. I will discuss Virginia Henderson’s theory of need nursing and the application of its key concepts into practice. I will also establish important aspects of her theory and how they apply to the nursing metaparadigm. The analysis will also address the relationship between Henderson’s views and nursing informatics. Overall the influence of theory and its application in nursing will be thoroughly discussed. The Value of Nursing Theory Throughout time, the nursing profession has been influenced by nursing theory. Nursing theory has contributed to the expansion of nursing care and its proper application in the clinical realm. Nursing practice is more clearly understood and developed through the use of nursing theory. Theory fosters critical thinking and provides nurses with an expanded insight (Aghebati, Mohammadi, Ahmadi & Noaparast...
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...ERMA: Electronic Record Management Application Stacey N. Tucker DeVry University Table of Contents Section Page Number Introduction 3 The Creation, Birth, and Development of ERMA 4 Legal Aspects 5 Strengths of Vizion 7 Weaknesses of Vizion 8 Strengths of ERMA 9 Weaknesses of ERMA 10 Recommendations for Improvement 11 Conclusion 12 Terminology 13 References 14 ERMA: Electronic Record Management Application ERMA, or the Electronic Record Management Application, was designed and developed by Correct Care Solutions for use in correctional facilities across the country. Used primarily in the ambulatory setting and clinics within correctional facilities. ERMA was primary created, and copyright protected for Correct Care Solutions in 2011 and since has been implemented in over two hundred correctional facilities. In 2013, the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center underwent a change of contract, this meant that their medical department was no longer ran by Correctional Health Care, and as such was no longer privy to their current electronic health record Vizion. The conversion from Vizion to ERMA would end up taking almost 2 full years to be put into full effect. The program implementation was meant with many challenges, these included both legalities and overall functionality. Compared to its predecessor ERMA is was still in its infancy and had a long way to go before it would...
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...Task 2 A. Increase in Quality of Care Electronic Medical Records (EMR) can increase quality of care in many ways. Unlike paper records, EMR is available to multiple members of the healthcare team in different locations, all at the same time. EMR makes it easy for caregivers to have all of a new patient’s previous visit information at their fingertips, which can help with obtaining a more accurate history upon admission. An accurate history will help caregivers make better decisions when planning a patient’s care. Because records are stored in a database instead of on paper, they are safe from natural disasters, forgery, loss, or damage. Many, many years of records can be stored in a relatively small space, which will negate the need for rows and rows of filing cabinets, and microfiche. This makes them easier to manage and retrieve. Less paper also means neater workspaces and better organization in the workplace, and because records are available on the database from multiple locations, the need for faxing or mailing records is decreased, increasing security. EMR can also be used to collect data for Quality Improvement processes, and an EMR system can have pop-up alerts built in to notify caregivers of best practices, allergies, and drug interactions. EMR’s that also have a medication bar code scanning system built in will help to reduce med errors by alerting nurses to wrong patient/wrong dose/ wrong time errors. Electronic Medical Records can reduce patient’s wait times...
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