Advantages & Disadvantages of Digital Health Care

Digital health care includes information about medical conditions, a patient's medical history and even billing and insurance. The terms EHR, or electronic health record -- or EMR or electronic medical record -- refers to digital patient records. These digital medical records are stored in databases to be accessed from a network. While the use of computers in health care has steadily increased over the past 20 years, health care lags behind other industries such as retail, finance and airlines when it comes to computerization of records.

Cost

• Cost-efficient digital records make a strong case for digital health care. Calls, faxes and written correspondence are all whittled down because access is simple and instant within the network. Since all medical history is noted in one location, costly tests will not be inadvertently repeated. However, the startup costs are steep. For instance, NorthShore University HealthSystem invested an estimated $42 million to get its system up and running. However, the organization anticipates a savings of $17 million a year.

Errors

• Digital health care minimizes the risk of errors in patient care. Medication errors can be caught quickly before harm to a patient. Allergy information or dangerous prescription combinations can be transferred to new doctors or caught more easily by caregivers, and can even be caught automatically by the EMR system. Doctors can keep up-to-date more easily even when a patient sees a variety of specialists, which can reduce the number of unnecessary procedures.

Security

• Paper files can be misplaced, lost or accessed by people who perhaps shouldn't have access. They can be difficult to read due to poor handwriting, as well. Electronic files are clearer and systems can track who accesses all records and when they were accessed or modified. However, it can be time-consuming to determine who has clearance, and setting up security can be a major undertaking. Also, some doctors may be concerned about who may gain access to records and be less likely to record highly personal information in an electronic record.

Communication

• Digital health care changes the way communication in the health setting occurs. Doctors can consult through networks. Patients can have a conversation with a physician through a smartphone, or request a prescription refill online. However, some physicians find the new technology distracting at times and may find they actually spend less time listening to patients because they have so much more information available to them before they even walk into the exam room with a patient.