Introduction
Information technology has transformed many aspects of people’s day to day life, and the main benefit of it is improved access to information. In healthcare settings, clinical systems allow improving the workflow, providing better efficiency, and affecting the quality of care. Clinical systems are used in healthcare to connect with other networks in different departments and collect patient data, reflecting it in a single patient record. Electronic personal health records (ePHRs) allow collecting all patient data and reviewing it from any device connected to the system, and they will be the focus of this report. This paper aims to examine five articles, which prove that clinical systems are effective.
Reflection
Clinical systems affect the outcomes and efficiencies in the context of nursing and healthcare delivery. Patient records, as well as other clinical information, were written by hand and stored within a healthcare facility in the past. This approach is connected to several issues – since to access information about a particular individual, and clinical specialists would have to spend time looking for the patient record. Nowadays, this process is transformed, and it is relatively easy for medical professionals to view and modify information about their patients. Moreover, it is possible to track a patient’s health history and see the progression of a specific condition which allows for better treatment. Therefore, more attention is dedicated to the actual treatment process and not data search.
Research
In order to examine evidence that proves the efficiency of patient record clinical systems, a review of the literature was conducted. The following articles by Greenberg et al. (2017), Laugesen and Hassanein (2017), Abd-alrazaq, Bewick, Farragher, and Gardner (2019), Graetz et al. (2018) and Navaneethan et al. (2017) were selected to assess evidence suggesting that clinical systems, more specifically personal health records are beneficial for healthcare organizations. All of these studies allow identifying the organizational impact and improved efficiency that arises as a result of using personal records since patients become more engaged in the process of treatment.
Firstly, various recent initiatives in the United States encourage healthcare facilities to allow patients access to their ePHRs. A study by Greenberg et al. (2017) aims to determine if such an approach has any impact on patient’s health, mainly focusing on the population of individuals with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). MCC requires not only to care provided by a healthcare facility, but also attention and specific actions from a patient.
It is essential, since chronic illnesses, for instance, diabetes, require one to maintain a diet and stay physically active in order to be healthy. The hypothesis of the study by Greenberg et al. (2017) is that patients with MCC who have access to ePHRs can manage their illnesses better when compared to those who do not see their ePHRs. This information and study results are important for understanding the implications of ePHRs in the context of chronic conditions care.
In total, survey data form 1555 people with MCC was assessed from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey (Greenberg et al., 2017). To compare the results, responses from 1050 with no chronic conditions were examined as well. Patients with MCC in universal access their records three times more often within one year period when compared to healthy individuals. This example suggests that ePHRs are a unique instrument for improving self-management of people with MCC, and thus affecting their health outcomes and treatment results Considering the trend for an increase in the number of United States citizens who have MCC’s and the increasing pressure as a result of lack of medical specialists, this can be a right solution for addressing these problems.
Hene, the improvement of efficiencies demonstrated by the study above is the ability to address raising concerns regarding chronic condition care, improving patient self-management, which in turn should result in fewer visits to emergency departments or other healthcare specialists. The lesson that can be learned from this study is that patients with MCC ae interested in reviewing their records, which is most likely associated with their desire to review their health state and adhere to the recommendations of clinicians. Therefore, ePHR is an adequate strategy for addressing chronic conditions care.
Secondly, despite the interest demonstrated by patients with MCC, the practice of using ePHR is not widely adopted by patients. Next, Laugesen and Hassanein (2017) examine the specifics of using these records by surveying 233 individuals with diabetes. The findings suggest that education of patients is an essential factor that allows them to leverage the benefits of the health records system.
The motivation of patients who use ePHRs was also an essential aspect of the research and lesson that arises as a result of its findings is that people with chronic diseases use these systems to assess the severeness of their condition, which in return, prompts them to adapt their behavior for self-management. Similarly to the previous study, this research suggests that healthcare establishments benefit from allowing patients to see their ePHRs since they serve as a motivation for self-management, which in turn helps improve their health.
Next, through the use of ePHRs, patients become more engaged with their health, actively taking steps for its improvement. However, not all patients are aware of these records. Abd-alrazaq et al. (2019) focus on the adoption of ePHRs since the author argues that despite ePHRs’ benefits, such as access to medical records and services, the adoption rates remain low. By examining 97 studies that focus on the intention to use ePHRs, the authors were able to make several important conclusions. For example, apart from personal factors, such as gender or income, the perceived easiness of use affects the intention to use this information system.
Additionally, organizational factors, such as facilitation of use, are important to patients. The findings of this research suggest that medical establishments should actively encourage their patients to use ePHRs. By addressing these factors, medical establishments will increase the number of individuals who use ePHRs and therefore be able to improve their efficiency of work due to self-management.
One other aspect, which can affect access to ePHR is the inability to use a computer or laptop on a regular basis, which can be addressed by a mobile-friendly version of clinical systems and personal records. With this study, the implication is that simplifying access can result in better outcomes and improve the efficiency of work for medical professionals, since patients will be able to refer to their record when necessary, instead of contacting the facility or ignoring possible concerns.
Graetz et al. (2018) use cross-sectional analysis to examine data of 267,208 people with diabetes and patterns of their personal records use. The results suggest that approximately 40% use mobile devices to access their records. Additionally, the socioeconomic status of patients affects the patterns of use. In this case, the efficiency implications suggest that mobile access to personal records allows some social groups to monitor their health more effectively.
Finally, by combining easy access for different socioeconomic groups and addressing motivation of use, healthcare facilities can affect outcomes and quality. Navaneethan et al. (2017) suggest that patient records improve the quality of care. To examine this hypothesis, the researchers develop a navigation program for people with chronic kidney disease. Navaneethan et al. (2017) selected two hundred and nine individuals and divided them into groups, one of which received training on ePHR use. The results suggest that a personal record system can be combined with navigation systems, which allow individuals to control the need for laboratory tests or dialysis. The organizational efficiency, as with other cases, is improved through better outcomes of patients who are able to self-control the treatment process.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper summarized five articles that provide evidence of the efficiency and improved outcomes in settings where clinical systems are used. The main focus was on self-management, which arises as a result of accessing personal records and the improved efficiency of management strategies. In summary, the articles show that both patients and clinical specialists benefit from ePHRs. Individuals with MCC use ePHRs more often when compared to healthy individuals. Moreover, patients with diabetes use this system to examine their health status and improve self-management. The factors that impact the patient’s willingness to use these systems can be addressed by organizations through education or mobile access.
References
Abd-alrazaq, A., Bewick, B., Farragher, T., & Gardner, P. (2019). Factors that affect the use of electronic personal health records among patients: A systematic review. International Journal Of Medical Informatics, 126, 164-175. Web.
Graetz, I., Huang, J., Brand, R. J., Hsu, J., Yamin, C. K., & Reed, M. E. (2018). Bridging the digital divide: Mobile access to personal health records among patients with diabetes. The American Journal of Managed Care, 24(1), 43–48.
Greenberg, A., Falisi, A., Finney Rutten, L., Chou, W., Patel, V., Moser, R., & Hesse, B. (2017). Access to electronic personal health records among patients with multiple chronic conditions: A secondary data analysis. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 19(6), e188. Web.
Laugesen, J., & Hassanein, K. (2017). Adoption of personal health records by chronic disease patients: A research model and an empirical study. Computers In Human Behavior, 66, 256-272. Web.
Navaneethan, S., et al. (2017). Pragmatic randomized, controlled trial of patient navigators and enhanced personal health records in CKD. Clinical Journal of The American Society of Nephrology, 12(9), 1418-1427. Web.