Electronic Health Record Essay

The cons of an EHR are part of the driving force behind the model restricted from the need to integrate EHRs throughout the health system and share information with network of referring hospitals. However, this sharing of information is often not possible (EHR,2013). Finding a hospital partner that is willing to open the lines of communication is critical to the success. The cost associated with EHRs is often a deterrent. Not only must the provider pay for the physical hardware and/or software, the organization must also put forth a considerable dollar amount for setup, maintenance, training, IT support and system updates (EHR,2013). With EHRs, much more documentation is required of physicians before, during and after a patient visit. This has its pros and cons. For example, a benefit of more strong documentation is that it provides additional information for the coders that may justify a higher level of service being billed(EHR,2013).

A wave of medical errors and patient deaths caused by healthcare providers renewed the search for a viable EHR system in 2000. Electronic health records would allow "providers to make better decisions and provide better

Getting successful universal EHR is not just technology selection, implementation question it needs to address many other aspects such as physician’s acceptance, policy/laws, incentives, security, and privacy and training issues before we can concentrate or focus on technology selection and implementations. The ecosystem should be ready with all these critical elements addressed only then successful EHR implementation can sustain in US. First and foremost there is a need to have consistency around the state/federal and HIPPA regulations which defines security and privacy issues in US. Due to conflicting requirements in these regulations mass acceptance of any medical system/technology cannot be effectively done. Second biggest issue for universal EHR adoption is the acceptance of EHR by physician’s communities. The benefits of EHR has been identified and acknowledged by medical communities at large however the rate of adoption and use after implementation is sluggish. The biggest common contributor for implementation, design and use of EHR systems is physician. Physicians should be properly trained and emphasis on continual education should also be placed through continuing education credits. Unless small physician office (stand-alone offices) buy-in the adoption of EHR no matter what technology and processes we have in place, EHR won’t be universally accepted and the entire benefit and value associated with EHR can be realized with universal acceptance of EHR. Thus need for

The adoption of EHR has been slower than expected (Gans 1323). With numerous systems available, it is particularly difficult for a smaller practice to identify which system best meets its needs. Other notable challenges for some practices include assumption of the capital investment as well as managerial responsibilities associated with the IT infrastructure. A common implementation challenge encountered is the lack of a universal vision and definition of EHR. Since there are multiple interpretations of the definition of EHR and attendant requirements, identifying current and future needs is a complex process for potential users. Short term limited ability systems will eventually become obsolete as there is a move toward more global EHR systems. On June 18,

In my view, these groups carry some of the greatest burdens before successfully utilizing EHRs—this, to an extent, explains their slower speed in EHR adoption. Overall, then, I believe that to be able to effectively install EHRs, and to improve the provision of healthcare through the use of such health information technology (HIT), smaller medical practices will need further support, financially and technically.

As the national health care system transitions to the electronic health record (EHR), it is important to recall the impetus to this reform. Prior to the implementation of the electronic health record, the national health care system encountered many problems that impeded quality patient care. There was not a standardized formal structure with the process. Consequently, it lacked communication across disciplines and among providers and

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized form of a patient’s medical chart. These records allow information to be readily available to authorized providers during a patient’s encounter with the healthcare system. These systems do not only contain medical histories, current medications and insurance information, they also track patients’ diagnoses, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images and lab tests/results (source). The fundamental aspect of EHRs is that they are able to share a patient’s information quickly across service lines and even between different healthcare organizations. Information is at the fingertips of lab techs, primary care physicians, pharmacies, clinics, etc. The

The road to patient-centered care was paved with the passing of the HITECH act, which authorized incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they use EHRs privately and securely to achieve specified improvements in care delivery. If providers do not become meaningful users of EHRs by 2015, penalties will be triggered through reduced Medicare payments. These provisions aim to create a nationwide electronic health system that is efficient and secure to improve health outcomes and lower the cost of healthcare. To accomplish these goals, the federal government allotted $19.2 billion of funding to promote the adoption and meaningful use of interoperable health information technology and electronic health records (EHRs).

Level III evidence suggests that most clinicians that are exposed to a new EHR system must adapt to make accommodations for this new system by leaving their comfortable old system for a new unknown one (McAlearney et al.,2015). The reason that adapting to a new EHR system is very difficult for some physicians is because they apply their old comfortable methods to a new changed system instead of taking an effort to adapt to that new system with a new method that is more appropriate. Some clinicians get so frustrated with trying to adapt that they either retire early, move to other hospitals, misuse the EHR system, or just quit entirely. This process of adapting to the new system and getting comfortable with it requires change, which is naturally

An EHR will directly affect clinicians’ care. Therefore, they need to see active participation by Johnson, CNO, and Towriss, CMO, for a successful transition. Without a high level of contribution and guidance, front-line caregivers may resent the change and increased workload it represents. Johnson and Towriss need to assume duties that result in improved communication between clinicians and IT staff, which will enhance the EHR program. They need to get involved in the implementation process and reiterate support for the effort. Johnson and Towriss must send a clear message that the use of an EHR system will become a condition of practicing medicine at SMC. Furthermore, they can best develop support by demonstrating that the EHR process has sufficient funding.

After decades of paper based medical records, a new type of record keeping has surfaced - the Electronic Health Record (EHR). EHR is an electronic or digital format concept of an individual’s past and present medical history. It is the principle storage place for data and information about the health care services provided to an individual patient. It is maintained by a provider over time and capable of being shared across different healthcare settings by network-connected information systems. Such records may include key administrative and clinical data relevant to that persons care under a particular provider. Examples of such records may include: demographics, physician notes, problems or injuries, medications and allergies, vital

Electronic health records (EHR’s) have many advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages. EHR’s were created to manage the many aspects of healthcare information. Medical professionals use them daily and most would feel lost without it. Healthcare organizations were encouraged to adopt EHR’s in 2009 due to the fact that a bill passed known as The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). “The HITECH Act outlines criteria to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic records. These criteria must be met in order for providers to receive financial incentives to promote adoption of EHRs as an integral part of their daily practice”, (Conrad, Hanson, Hasenau & Stocker-Schneider, 2012).

Resistance to establish or utilize a EHR system is a factor all organizations will have to overcome. Many providers have a structured, organized and efficient paper system utilized for numerous years. Therefore, providers foresee a increased responsibility, time and obstacles to implementing an EHR system. Furthermore, the provider may have limited informatics training and/or experience causing concern for patient documentation errors.

Though there are many barriers influencing the adoption of EHR in present developing Healthcare systems, legal barriers tend to have the third most impact after the Human and Financial barriers. A separate list of risks and barriers were provided to the respondents (physicians and nursing staff) and they were asked to rank them based on importance, with the highest number assigned to the item of greatest degree of risk or barrier (Minal Thakkar, 2006). The mean impact of the barriers affecting the EHR implementation can be seen in the below mentioned table.

One of the most delicate aspect when adopting EHRS is the implementation phase, yet failure to adopt EHR might come with an extra cost of penalties from the government.