Medical research is constantly developing due to modern technological advancements. Electronic health records (EHR), which include patients’ medical history, are used to store and share data to provide sufficient healthcare (Dash et al., 2019, para. 8). The application of EHR to daily hospital routines resulted in changes to their data collection methods; to further improve the healthcare system, the reasons behind these changes should be discussed.
Firstly, electronic health records are wide-ranging databases that combine convenient qualities of several data collection methods and can be used in hospitals daily for diagnosis and treatment. Hence, they reduce the need for extensive research and allow professionals to retrieve necessary data instantly with the aim of treating a patient (Dash et al., 2019, para.9). Apart from access to an extensive database, healthcare workers can also organize the information according to its relevancy, a new advancement in the field.
Secondly, the records have various applications in the research field, compensating for unnecessary observational studies and analytical work. They can be used for comparative analysis, retrospective studies, and to store clinical research data (Cowie et al., 2016, para. 4). In this way, the emphasis in research shifts to the correct usage of EHR systems, as opposed to collecting sufficient data. Implementing electronic health records in laboratories can reduce the number of experimental trials and instead produce results of higher credibility.
Therefore, correct utilization of EHR in the medical field directly impacts the methodology, as it alone provides relevant information and minimizes the need for extensive research. Its technological advancements provide healthcare workers with the necessary data to diagnose and treat patients, limiting the time for manual data collection. The EHR system also has valuable applications in science due to the credible analytical results it generates.
References
Cowie, M.R., Blomster, J.I., Curtis, L.H. et al. (2017). Electronic health records to facilitate clinical research. Clin Res Cardiol 106, 1-9. Web.
Dash, S., Shakyawar, S.K., Sharma, M. et al. (2019). Big data in healthcare: Management, analysis and future prospects. J Big Data 6, 54. Web.