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What are EMRs? EMRs or electronic medical records are technologies widely used in the US today which aims to improve medical practices in different health care providers or institutions, such as in a hospital, by giving them a way to quickly and efficiently store, access, and modify their patient’s medical records. Advantages of EMR over the use of Paper-Based Records EMR was introduced to eliminate the use of paper-based records in different health care institution, which is still a widely used form of recording a patient’s health and medical information. According to experts, by eliminating the use of paper-based records, EMR also eliminates the usual adverse effects of using pen and paper, such as: Storage Costs Patient’s health and medical records are normally stored in a secured storage facility for 7 years. The cost of storing these records is usually expensive, particularly if stored in a secured storage facility normally found outside a hospital or other health care institutions. Digital storages, usually in a Hard Disk Drive, normally cost lesser compared to the use of storage facilities. And this digital information produced by an EMR can be storage not only for 7 years, but for more than that time. Medical Errors The use of paper-based records also posed a number of problems which caused a number of medical errors. Handwritten paper medical records can be associated with poor legibility, which can contribute to medical errors. Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. Electronic records help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies. According to a number of studies, the use of EMR software can verall efficiency by 6% per year, and the monthly cost of an EMR may (depending on the cost of the EMR) be offset by the cost of only a few "unnecessary" tests or admissions. Difference with EHR EMR and EHR are said to be similar with each other. However, there are several differences that separate both types of electronic records. The EMR can be defined as the legal patient record created in hospitals and ambulatory environments that is the data source for the EHR.
According to many medical experts, EMR or electronic medical records are tools used today by many hospitals to store and manage their patient’s medical records easily and conveniently. Compared to paper-based records, an EMR can offer faster retrieval of a patient’s record which can be useful for a number of reasons. What is an EMR? An EMR or electronic medical record is a type of software developed for use of hospitals and other medical care providers for easier way to store, retrieve, and modify a patient’s medical record. The software is usually closely related to another type of electronic medical device known as the EHR or electronic health record. Both terms are usually used interchangeably, although a difference between them can be defined. The EMR can be defined as the legal patient record created in hospitals and ambulatory environments that is the data source for the EHR. Different Types of EMR There are different types of EMR services or module within an EMR software. Each module specifies a particular illness, complete with templates and information in which nurses and doctors can use. Popular types of EMR modules include pain management emr, dermatology EMR, pediatric EMR, general surgery EMR, and many others. Advantages compared to Traditional Practices There are many advantages of using EMR compared to the use of traditional pen-and-paper-based medical records. One situation is when a previous patient from one hospital is admitted in another hospital. The usual process of transferring the patient’s medical record from his/her previous hospital would normally involve courier services, particularly if the patient is admitted in a hospital in another region or state. EMR made this process easier by sending the patient’s digital medical record through the internet to another hospital that also makes use of EMR applications. Another reason why EMR are highly recommended by many medical experts is because it minimizes the risk of medical errors usually posed by poor penmanship. Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. Electronic records help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies. Because of these, many medical experts now recommends the use of EMR, particularly for large hospitals, to not only make it easier for nurses and doctors to store and retrieve medical records, but also improve their medical practices by minimizing the many medical errors produced by the use of paper-based medical records.
What is an EMR? An EMR or electronic medical record is a new technology introduced for the use of medical care providers such as hospitals. It aims to minimize the use of pen and paper for tallying a patient’s records while giving nurses and doctors, and other authorized personnel, to store, retrieve, and change a patient’s medical record easily and conveniently. What are the Advantages of using EMR compared to Paper-Based Records? Cost-Cutting Although many hospitals are still using the traditional pen and paper for recording a patient’s medical record, and that doctors still prefer the use of paper-based records compared to EMR software, there are a number of disadvantages to the use of traditional methods. One is that paper records normally take a lot of space compared to digital medical records generated by electronic medical records. According to many experts, the cost storage for these records is usually very expensive, and that looking for a specific record among thousands of records is time consuming and complicated. This is the reason why EMR software was introduced to minimize this effort. Faster Delivery of Medical Records from one Hospital to the other Another advantage of using EMR compared to the use of paper-based records is when it is needed in other hospital, such as in a case in which a previous patient of hospital 1 checks-in in hospital 2, hospital 2 then requires the patient’s record from his/her previous hospital, which is hospital 1. The process in which transferring paper-based records from hospital 1 to hospital 2 normally takes a lot of time which is EMR software was created to make this process easier with the use of the Internet in which the patient’s medical records can be transferred to other hospital. Minimizing the Risk of Medical Errors But what made EMR software, such as pain management emr, useful is because it aims to minimize the risk of medical errors which are normally caused by poor legibility in paper-based records. Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. According to experts, electronic records such as an EMR help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies.
Because of today’s modern technologies, many processes in different fields and in different markets have been simplified to deliver faster and more accurate information, service, and product for its practitioners. One of those that have been improved by modern technologies is how medical personnel process the information of their patients without the use of pen and paper. This is when different EHR software was introduced for hospital use. What is an EHR? What is EHR? EHR or Electronic Health Record is an electronic alternative to the use of pen and paper for gather health information about a patient. This information may include the usual information that traditional methods are gathering such as demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal stats like age and weight, with the addition of billing information. Advantages and Disadvantages of EHR The main advantage of using EHR was it improved the processes of health information exchange within a hospital and between doctors and nurses. However, there are also a number of disadvantages to the use of EHR no matter how useful it is. The Advantage One of the main advantages of using ehr software is its improved quality of care. According to statistics, the implementation of an EHR eliminates a number of medical errors by providing healthcare workers (such as nurses) with decision support. This is due to the fact that faster access to medical records as well as current medical practices ensures increase of ongoing improvements in healthcare effectiveness. Another major advantage of EHR is that it provides faster access to clinical data to be used for research. This, however, only works with EHR software that is interconnected in many other hospitals nationwide. This allows faster and accurate data gathering coming from different situations that can be used in researching for better and effective medical practices. In addition to those, EHR applications are also known for its mobility and record keeping which allows faster data retrieval to be used in cases in which a patient needs to be admitted in another hospital (in other region). Sending their medical paper through delivery services is time-consuming, which is why EHR applications were introduced for faster processes in patient information retrieval. The Disadvantage The one disadvantage of using EHR is its cost. Although many EHR software providers are saying that their applications can save more compared to the conventional use pen and paper, the US Congressional Budget Office have said that this would only apply to larger institutions such as hospitals. Small and medium hospitals would find using this software a bit costly, though the rewards can effectively improve their medical practices.
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