The conventional working of the healthcare industry has changed drastically with the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) facility. Earlier, the organizations were using the traditional form of working which was purely paper-based. The process was highly unappreciated because of the limited accessibility, poor file management, and the expenses in storing the large data files. Hence, seeking the need to set up a fully functional system for managing these records, EHR Software came into the ground. The article has covered all the information related to the challenges and benefits of electronic health records (EHR).
The EHR Process was highly appreciated by the doctors, physicians, as it was the most convenient way to reach a highly appropriate health record. But as the good always draws some bad, the doctors and physicians noticed some of the challenges in using the technology.
Now, everybody started raising two main pointers towards this EHR mechanism and these were:
- What are the Benefits of Electronic Health Records (EHR)?
- What are the Challenges of Electronic Health Records?
Any software is accepted on these two parameters. Systems with more functionality (benefits) and fewer glitches (challenges) are recommended first. So let us get in-depth information on the EHR Benefits & Challenges for the doctors and physicians.
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What advantage does electronic health record Contain?
The advantages of any product are better understood by its sense. To gain its sense, you need to be aware of the meaning. So the coming sections will describe the EHR Meaning, Purpose, and Benefits.
What is Electronic Health Records (EHR)?
The concept of medical health reporting was postulated by Larry Weed in the 1960s. Later on, in 1972, the first medical record software was developed by the Regenstrief Institute.
According to the definition, an Electronic Health Recorder (EHR) is a mechanism to collect patient, population health data electronically i.e. in digital formats.
These records then can be transferred or shared to different healthcare centers for pre-specified purposes.
The EHR consists of data that includes demographic, medical history, allergies or medication tenure, lab test results, immunization, radiology images, etc. reports.
In the past few years, EHR has become the ultimate way of gaining the proper healthcare and diagnostic status of patients. The system is designing to save the patient’s data accurately and then continue the treatment with 100% efficiency.
Read ALso: What is EPIC EMR and its Integration Challenges
Having said that, Dreamsoft4u has shared some popular characteristics or benefits of utilizing the EHR technology for serving the patients.
Benefits of Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Electronic Health Record (EHR) is an awesome tool for detecting the actual health and determining the worthy treatments. The MD, Co-founder of HealthFusion Board has termed EHR as:
“EHRs regularized the functioning and provided doctors the ability to utilize the PHI or data for better predicting the diagnosis, aid in health management, and offering a sustainable patient care experience, in terms of everything to be note down of papers.”
There are a few more features that have been added to the quality of this software known as EHR:
- Accessibility
- e-Prescribing
- Better Patient Engagement
- Effective Treatment
- Quick Access to Healthcare
1. Accessibility:
EHR is electronically stored data that are accessible from any part of the world. Whenever a patient needs extra care, medical conditions or history can be evaluated from these data by experts at any point in time. It facilitates many big decisions in evaluating the Blood Type, Allergies, Previous healthcare conditions, etc.
2. e-Prescribing:
The best segment of EHR or telemedicine is that patients can receive online prescriptions. EHR Technology aids in a contactless prescription of the treatment which can be a boon in the pandemic time. It also accompanies pharmacy working, boosts medication flows, better clinical supports, and improved patient and doctor safety.
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3. Better Patient Engagement:
In the light of digitization, Electronic Health Record Software is the right approach towards health benefits. The process is quite handy and better engagement with the doctors. It has reduced the clinical problems like sitting in the queue, waiting for the appointment.
4. Effective Treatment:
EHR System has immensely facilitated the standards and availability of healthcare services. Now patients got the opportunities to gain personalized check-ups and treatment possible. People can seek the help of the world-best doctors from sitting in any corner of the world.
5. Quick Access to Healthcare:
As the above section expresses, EHR has removed the obstacle of seeking the best doctors. Now everybody, anywhere at the requested time can attend the help. It has reduced the traveling expenses who have to travel far for gaining the best treatment.
What are the Challenges of Electronic Health Records?
There are two sides to a coin i.e. Pros & Cons. An eye on the benefits is already taken, now comes the challenges or disadvantages with EHR Software. So let’s take a gaze at it also:
#1. Lack of Information
The major concern here is the deficiency of proper implementation among all the variety of software. It sometimes lacks furnishing complete analysis of a patient’s health that ultimately triggers better treatment possibilities.
Read Also: What are the challenges of telemedicine?
#2. Traditional Care Missing
Online culture has replaced the traditional one which at some point gives false status or reports. Here a need for a proper mechanism that can accurately transmit the data and deliver the exact solution.
#3. Fatigue Issues
As the software is electrically held, there should be a team of professionals to operate its work. It can be a fatigue task as the team will be handling the data all day long and can come to pressure for maintaining the same. Hence, a special eye on the staff and their naps are also considered.
#4. Team Lead Necessary
Every electronic device needs guidance on operations and also on its productivity. EHR system technology is not known to many and hence results in insufficient data or false reports sometimes. Thus, these factors contribute to the lag of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system in the healthcare industry.
Conclusion:
To give our final verdict on EHR, then we will conclude it as the best way of keeping a track of health. Not only this, it has facilitated many organizations to treat as many patients as they can in the time of universal emergencies. Hence, we can avoid fewer glitches, if we have so many benefits of Electronic Health Record (EHR) system in the healthcare industry.
