EHR

When I was doing a research about the technologies that keep hospitals competitive, I came across this article. It was really surprising for me because on top of the list, it is neither the most recent surgical technologies nor the hybrid operating rooms as I expected. Rather, the article puts EHR system as the most influential technology. In fact, this system is so important that even the federal government provides EHR incentive programs (through Medicare and Medicaid) to eligible hospitals.

It really grabs my attention and that’s why I decided to dedicate this post to talk about EHR.

So, what is it?

EHR stands for Electronic Health Record. People usually use the term EHR and EMR, which stands for Electronic Medical Record, interchangeably. Make no mistake though because they are not exactly the same.

EMR is basically a digital version of a patient’s medical and treatment history in one practice. It is a step-up from a paper record. Without EMR, every time a patient is admitted to a hospital, all treatments would be recorded on paper charts by hand. The record would then be added to the hospital’s file and stored in one of the cabinets in the hospital. Can you imagine how much space required in the large medical institutions? A lot!

Example of EHR

EHR, on the other hand, is a step-up from EMR. It does everything that EMR does. However, as Dr. Effren states in the article, EHR is also “a platform of communication”-  it allows one health provider to share medical information with other stakeholders. Therefore, the specialists, the hospitals, the nursing homes and the patients themselves can access a complete and consistent health information about the patients. In contrast, if we are using EMR, the information might need to be printed out and delivered by mail.

 

How will it benefit hospitals?

My explanation above implies that EHR promotes and improves effective communications resulting in all stakeholders, including hospitals, to receive a more comprehensive information. Therefore, from hospitals’ standpoint, I conclude that EHR:

-        Improves quality of patient care

Accurate and complete information about patient’s health enables hospitals to provide the best possible care, whether during patient’s routine office visit or in a medical emergency situation, in the context of his / her health history and other treatments. A high quality care also depends on the quality of the physicians in that particular hospital. Dr. Hitchcock of Manatee Memorial Hospital claims that hospitals equipped with an effective EHR system are much more successful in their physician recruitment efforts. 

-        Increase safety of patient care

The hospitals with EHR system perform a safer care than those with EMR or paper record because it facilitates a better coordination among different health providers. To illustrate, EHR can provide emergency medicine staffs with an information about a patient’s life threatening allergy, even if the patient is unconscious. Furthermore, EHR can flag potentially drug interactions, verify medications and dosages, and reduce the need for potentially risky tests and procedures.

-        Allow faster treatment

Unlike EMR and a paper record, EHR allows an instant access to information about patient’s medical history, allergies, and medication on a real-time basis. This lets hospitals to perform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions sooner and deliver the care faster.

-        Reduce operating costs

To begin with, EHR system significantly decreases hospital operating cost by streamlining administrative tasks such as filling out forms and processing billing requests. Furthermore, an EHR-equipped hospital is less likely to spend time ordering and reviewing the results of unnecessary or duplicate tests and medical procedures. Last but not least, EHR supports hospitals by easing accurate reimbursement coding and billing.

-        Enhance patient satisfaction

In addition to have a better health care and treatment, patients:

-        can be more involved in decisions about their health care because they also have access to the information

-        do not need to fill the same forms in each visit to the hospitals

-        can use e-Prescriptions system that electronically sends prescription to pharmacy

-        can utilize Electronic Referrals system that allows easy access to follow-up care with specialist.

So that’s about EHR (and EMR) for now. I will revisit this topic in the future if I can find more interesting things about it. Stay tuned!