Impact of Electronic Medical Records on Community Health - Assignment Example

? Impact of Electronic Medical Records on Community Health Alexander Heatrice, DDS A.T Still HMP856 Based Healthcare Shannon Wills Ph.D. April 22, 2012 Introduction Despite progress made in technology and its various applications in the field of medicine, many medical practitioners still document all their encounters with patients on paper medical records. There are many benefits that arise from the application of technology in recording and storing patient information, but the rate of adoption is still low. A 2008 survey carried out in U.S. hospitals indicated that less than 10% hospitals had incorporated a fully functional Electronic Medical Record (EMR). However, about half of them had either already incorporated Health Information Technology or were planning to do so in the next two years. An EMR refers to a computerized system that allows real-time access to a patient’s history of care within a single practice (Jha et al., 2009). The computerized nature of these records has significant effects on the community, some of which are not desirable. Positive Impacts of EMR on Community Health The first impact is ease of access and use of medical data about a patient anywhere at any time. We understand that ailments can happen anywhere and at any time. People become ill while travelling, at home, or even at the office. They may become ill in places away from home or where they do not usually receive treatment (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). When this happens, patients have no access to their medical records and medical personnel have no accurate data on the patients’ history. This requires the medical personnel to carry out new investigations through methods such as lab tests. If EMR is available, this data is easily available to the physician, and the patient will receive faster service anywhere in the country (Skolnik, 2011). The second positive impact is the reduced medical costs as unnecessary tests will not be carried out. A patient who becomes ill away when from home requires a new medical diagnosis. The physician cannot base his or her diagnosis on facts given by the patient because they may not be conclusive. A doctor will order tests to ascertain the patient’s condition and determine the appropriate interventions (Giaedi, 2008). Consequently, the patient is forced to pay for these services again despite the fact that he has the records back home. This is costly for the community. EMR provide this information and the doctor does not need to carry out tests already done, thus saving on time and costs (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). The third impact is that EMR are permanent. This will ensure that no records are lost. We have heard about lost medical records, and such incidents are not uncommon, even in large hospitals. A misplaced record means that the patient’s medical history is lost, and this requires new diagnoses. This loss of time and delayed care is sometimes fatal. Electronic medical records offer ease of use and are permanent as long as back-up mechanisms are in place to prevent data loss. Timely medical attention and medical attention means that the community will be served efficiently (Giaedi, 2008). The fourth impact is that EMRs offer documentation that can be used in a legal battle in case of malpractice. Some doctors destroy evidence of malpractice and replace it with a new record that works in their favor. Such events occur with the paper records and this lack of accurate evidence makes it difficult for a patient to sue. However, EMRs make it difficult for physicians to confiscate the records. This reduces community suffering and improves quality of the practice (Skolnik, 2011). Finally, EMRs lead to improved patient care, quality of service and patient safety. The continued use of EMRs and other information technologies reduces risks to patients. For example, intelligent e-prescribing with EMR improves patient safety by eliminating the need for physicians to interpret handwriting and cross-checking prescriptions to ensure that they are in line with the patient’s medication list, thus reducing the risk of potentially harmful interactions or allergies before sending the prescription to a pharmacy (Jha et al., 2009). The use of EMRs is also critical to the implementation of improvement in medical practices. They enable physicians to build evidence-based protocols in medical data. The physicians can also generate and use data to view patient care and the performance of their practices in the context of the aggregate population they treat (Giaedi, 2008). Negative Impacts of EMRs on Community Health The most vital problem of EMRs involves the security and confidentiality of the patient’s records. The medical world is centered on the principle of patient confidentiality. Confidentiality ensures that a patient’s medical data cannot be made public as such information can be used against an individual for example in political scenarios (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2012). EMRs facilitate ease of access by any physician, making it is easier for people with malicious intentions to use data to their own advantage. However, this does not mean that paper records posed no security issues. Paper records were duplicated and faxed routinely among healthcare providers and insurance companies (Giaedi, 2008). There was little fear regarding the security of this information because very few people had access to these medical records. On the other hand, EMRs may exacerbate the problem because many people (hackers included) can gain access to the information. Many hospitals have tried to solve this problem by use of passwords and other authentication measures, but the security risks are still present (Skolnik, 2011). The second negative impact involves errors of omission, errors of commission, and errors in data transmission. It takes time for physicians to complete the electronic medical forms. Data omission or addition may occur. The omitted data may be very important in treating a patient. Errors in data transmission are common for all records that are sent electronically. Such errors may lead to incorrect interpretations by the physician. This may pose a great security concern regarding the safety and well-being of the patient. People with ill or bad intentions manipulate information that they access through addition of false data (Jha et al., 2009). In conclusion, the introduction of EMRs in the medical world can be a blessing if used with the best intentions at heart. However, this technology can be a curse especially to individuals whose personal information is used to hurt their reputation. References Buchbinder, S., & Shanks, N. H. (2012). Introduction to health care management. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Giaedi, T. (2008). The impact of electronic medical records on improvement of healthcare delivery. Libyan journal of Medicine, 3(1):AOP 071118. Jha, A. k., DesRoches, C. M., Campbell, E. G., Donelan, K., Rao, S., Ferris, T. G., et al. (2009). Use of Electronic Health Records in US Hospitals. The New England Journal of Medicine, 4(1)1628-1638. Skolnik, N. S. (Ed.). (2011). Electronic Medical Records: A practical Guide for Primary Care. New York: Springer. Read More