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Advantages of EHR

The EHR (electric health record) is a computerized system for storing a patient's health-related information. This includes clinical data (like indications of allergies and medications), demographic data (like age and gender) and administrative data (like type of health insurance coverage and appointment scheduling). And while some health-care employees may be reluctant to make the switch from paper to digital, EHR has several advantages, particularly when it comes to convenience, emergencies, finance and security.

  1. Convenience

    • With EHR, doctors in multiple locations can simultaneously retrieve documentation for the same patient. This is because with EHR, files are not stored in physical locations, but in databases, making them more accessible to doctors and other medical staff. According to ohi.ca.gov, one of the main conveniences of EHR is that it eliminates the need to sort through and move around heavy, bulky folders of paper documents. Storing, maintaining and retrieving files can all be done simply with a computer. Also, converting all data to digital will eliminate any future need to decipher messy handwritten documents.

    During Emergencies

    • As mentioned above, EHRs are incredibly easy for relevant medical personal to access, which---according to ohi.ca.gov---is incredibly important during medical emergencies. No time is wasted making phone calls to primary physicians or family members in order to find out crucial data, for example, allergies to certain medications. Instead, even if a patient lives in a different state, doctors can simply pull up an EHR to get all the information they need. Also, while paper records are susceptible to damage and destruction during disasters like floods, EHRs are safe from these dangers.

    Financial Benefits

    • According to ihs.gov, EHR can make financial management much more efficient for medical institutions, because the registration, billing and collecting records for a patient are all stored in a single location. This helps the patient-care revenue cycle flow smoothly. Also, switching to EHR will significantly reduce the amount of money institutions spend on paper and paper-related products, like printer ink. In addition to being financially beneficial, switching from paper to EHR is also beneficial to the environment.

    Security

    • According to ohi.ca.gov, just like with paper records, EHRs must comply with patient privacy regulations laid out in the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, unlike with paper records, which someone could break into an office and look at, EHRs are encoded so only authorized personnel can access them.

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