Abstract
Electronic Health Records refers to the process of systematically collecting and recording of patients’ health details electronically as opposed to the use of the traditional paper charts (Ajami & Arabchadegani, 2013). Often, the electronic health record system relies on real-time record information about a patient, as well as contains other data such as medical history of the patient, their treatment plans, medications, allergies, dates of immunization, laboratory tests and results, as well as any other diagnoses. This paper analyzes the advantages of electronic health records, its implementation challenges, as well as any possible flaws associated with them.
Advantages of electronic health records
Electronic health records have become very significant in the medical field. Nowadays, patients can get improved care following the introduction of electronic health records in hospitals and other care centers (Mitka, 2014). Secondly, such technology has increased the participation of patients in their treatment and diagnoses, as well as improved coordination between caregivers and patients.
In addition, health care providers are now able to make treatment and other patient-related decisions based on evidence and insight from the electronic health records (Miller & Sim, 2004). This can be attributed to the fact that electronic health records provide nurses and doctors with complete information about a given patient.
Lastly, electronic health records have led to the improvement of the management of medical practices, because the system has increased the efficiency of medical practices, alongside saving the cost involved in diagnoses and treatment.
Barriers to implementation
Although electronic health records are very beneficial if used as expected, adoption and implementation of the same come with a lot of barriers. Ajami and Arabchadegani (2013) noted that one of the primary barriers associated with the implementation of electronic health records is cost and benefits misalignment. Secondly, the installation and operation of electronic health records require IT knowledge which lacks in most health care units. For this reason, the systems often encounter technical issues that interfere with the smooth functionality of the electronic health records (Miller & Sim, 2004). In addition, Mitka (2014) asserted that the absence of better standards for health information data and clear information on confidentiality and privacy of patient’s information has hindered the implementation of electronic health records in many parts of the world.
Possible flaws
Several flaws can occur during the use of electronic health records that can put the lives of many patients in danger (Miller & Sim, 2004). First, such records collect a lot of information that might not be necessary, as opposed to the prioritization of key information for the diagnosis and treatment of the concerned patient. For example, according to Tozzi (2014), a doctor in Texas Health Dallas missed crucial information about an Ebola patient and this gave the wrong diagnosis. Often, the design of the electronic health records can prevent some healthcare providers from seeing particular details about a patient, which might be very important in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient, as it was in the case of an Ebola patient in Texas Health Dallas (Tozzi, 2014).
Evidently, despite the benefits presented by the introduction of electronic health records in hospitals, it is important to understand that they may not always give accurate data. For this reason, nurses and doctors ought to be careful when making decisions based on such records since electronic health records’ flaws might lead to wrong diagnosis and treatment.
References
Ajami, S., & Arabchadegani, R. (2013). Barriers to implementing Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Mater Sociomed, 25(3), 213-215.
Miller, R., & Sim, I. (2004). Physicians’ Use of Electronic Medical Records: Barriers And Solutions. Health Affairs, 23(2), 116-126.
Mitka, M. (2014). Physicians Cite Problems With EHRs. JAMA, 311(18), 1847.
Tozzi, J. (2014, October 3). Scarier Than Ebola: Human Error. Businessweek.com. Web.