Electronic Health Records essay

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD 3

ElectronicHealth Records

ElectronicHealth Records

Electronichealth record (EHR) is usually an efficient, protected and accessiblemode of communication between various health providers and patients.Using electronic health records is important in decision supportsince it can easily give reminders, prompts, and computerized supportthat can help in increasing compliance with the required clinicalpractices. Interoperability expounds the capacity of the healthinformation systems to function within an organization with the aimof realizing positive health outcomes. There exist three phases oftechnology interoperability namely, foundational, semantic andfunctional (Scarlat, 2012). Health information is a critical area inmaking important decisions in health care and understanding healthdemographics. The data assists in advancing communication, the safetyof the patients, harmonization of health care systems, properdocumentation, making clinical decisions and observance ofevidence-based clinical procedures. Through the concept, it ispossible to exchange information using the available technologyresources, such as software and hardware.

Accordingto Scarlat (2012), EHR helps in adopting a patient-centerednessapproach that involves shared decisions, outcome obligations anddisease management. The use of electronic records has revolutionizedthe medical field. It is widely commended for its efficiency, lesscost, qualitative, and convenience in detecting malpractice in thehealthcare system. Nonetheless, more research is required to help inovercoming the EHR limitations and achieving the highest quality at areasonable cost. A clinical administrator will be necessary to haveall such information, which should regularly be communicated to thedoctors and health bodies. Thus, it is vital to ensure that ahospital’s information system is safe and supported using a backupsystem. This can be realized by having regular checks on the system’ssecurity as well as using competent individuals to run it (Scarlat,2012).

References

Scarlat,A. (2012). Electronichealth record: A systems analysis of the medications domain.Boca Raton: Taylor &amp Francis.