Select Page

acarambot8 Please respond to this statement   Electronic medical records are…Please respond to this statement Electronic medical records are extremely beneficial when it comes to managing the enormous amount of patient data for clinics, hospitals, and medical practices. While this is true, there are also disadvantages in utilizing electronic medical records for data. Initially, many small clinics or practices did not have the finances to update to compatible computers for the software. These small practices were at a disadvantage when attempting to transmit or receive patient files with other practices utilizing electronic medical records. With medical restrictions and regulations ever changing, software may fall out of the required parameters forcing entire organizations to have to download and upload data to a completely different software. Places that are working with electronic record keeping also have to be extremely vigilant of hackers attempting to download the kept information. All technology can be extremely faulty and not always work properly, forcing hospitals to reboot or update systems in inopportune times. One of the leading arguments to make the switch to electronic health record keeping is the all-encompassing efficiency of the system. EHRs have predesigned templates that ensure staff members continually input correct patient information when updating the record. Patients can also access the system to input their own data through patient portals. These systems cut down on the time it would usually take to obtain and input data in hard copy records as well as transferring and receiving data. This time is then utilized in other areas such as treatment or actual surgery. The increase in effectiveness has led so many hospitals to make the switch. The American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement conducted a survey from 2008-2015 to measure the adoption among hospitals and utilizing this data to further identify the rates of adoption; it was determined that 80.5% of hospitals have employed the system since 2014. Within the past few years of my own navy career, upon transfer to another command it was our responsibility to pick up our medical and dental records from the hospital and transfer them to our new stationed hospital. Recently I realized that I had not turned my medical record into my new hospital, but I have been seen there multiple times over the year that I had kept it. Thinking I made a huge mistake in keeping my record and not having any of my previous visits matched to older visits I attempted to rectify the situation by turning in my record. The desk attendant explained to me that I was right in turning in the hard copy record, but they had been utilizing the electronic system and that is why they had already accounted for my history. I was extremely relieved and grateful to discover that I was not taking the incorrect medications or being misdiagnosed simply because my new doctors had the patient data from my previous doctors already.ScienceHealth ScienceNursing