Electronic Health Records (EHR) have become an integral part of healthcare delivery. The majority of medical institutions chose in favor of EHR due to the benefits they provide for patient care (Reisman, 2017). The significantly helps medical workers to be more efficient and make decisions more quickly. In turn, Health Information Exchange (HIE) allows physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff to access, edit, and share patient data using electronic devices with improved speed, quality, and safety (Reisman, 2017). The connection between these two notions is that each HER linked to HIE can transmit necessary information via defined standards. Interoperability refers to medical information technology that makes it easy to exchange electronic medical data. It allows authorized professionals to access, share, and use medical information (Reisman, 2017). Connecting EHR to HIE gives a possibility to transfer data in time.
Meanwhile, Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) is under advancement to establish infrastructure and health information services at the national interaction level. This allows connecting care providers, patients, and other actors involved in the healthcare system. Their goals are to reduce medical errors, develop secure data exchange, lower healthcare costs, and others (Valle, Gomes, Godby, & Coustasse, 2016). Therefore, the utilization of EHRs and HIE in the hospital setting would help alleviate health-related information transmission and be the foundation of NHIN’s infrastructure.
As a result, HIE and NHIN will positively affect the healthcare system facilitating access to all medical records using secure methods. Moreover, they would reduce the amount of time medical staff spends on paperwork and data transmission. NHIN is supposed to improve the quality of records devoid of errors. The general impact would be beneficial due to the speed, quality, and reduced costs of care.
References
Reisman M. (2017). EHRs: The challenge of making electronic data usable and interoperable. P & T: a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 42(9), 572–575.
Valle,J. Gomes, C., Godby, T., & Coustasse, A. (2016). The feasibility of the Nationwide Health Information Network. The Health Care Manager, 35(2), 103-112.