Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample
The third millennium has witnessed virtually every primary industry, including the healthcare invest heavily in computerization. More Americans today use online to buy their airline tickets, check-in flights, and buy goods via the internet in comparative terms. Even nursing education, law and business have online degree programs yet, majority of the patients continue to be given handwritten prescriptions, and only a few can schedule an appointment with the physician without going through a live receptionist (Palabindala et al., 2016). My research based on the final presentation topic was based on electronic health records keeping in healthcare settings. Therefore, it is imperative to highlight the pros and cons of using EHRS.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Description of the Final Presentation and Conclusions Drawn From Literature Researched
In concise form, the presentation focused on the distinction between electronic health records (EHRs), electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs). In terms of definition, an EHR is the equivalent of an electronic version of a patient’s medical history, kept by the provider over time that captures administrative data relevant to that individual under a specific provider like demographics; progress noted problems and medications. Likewise, an EMR includes the patients’ health history in terms of diagnoses, medicines, tests, allergies and treatment plans, like the EHRs, the provider keeps them. Though some individuals use the terms EHRs and EMRs interchangeably, the main distinction is that an EMR takes a narrower perspective focusing on medical issues. Its counterpart, the EHR incorporates a more comprehensive report regarding the patient’s general health.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
On the other hand, a PHR is a health record containing health data and other related information on a patient’s care maintained by the individual patient. Additionally, the presentation helped me better understand a clinical information system compared to administrative information systems. As I researched more on these information systems, I was able to determine that the hospital I work for uses the clinical information and was, therefore, able to rate on a scale of 1 -5, a score of 4 after evaluating the success of the EHR in terms of patient engagement, wait times, population health engagement, care coordination and return on investment.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Are Practice Changes Recommended For My Current Practice?
In the EHR systems research, I found that EHRs have both benefits and drawbacks, implying that practice changes are recommended in my current practice. Some of the benefits include the fact that EHRS positively impact the quality of care, improving patient safety by reducing medical errors. Simultaneously, the respective healthcare organizations also benefit from better financial and operational performance (Dekota & Devkota, 2013). Overall, EHRs have led to increased satisfaction levels among patients and clinicians, where these electronic records are appropriately utilized. This is because EHRs particularly those with Computerized Decision Support tools, are empirically connected to an increase in adherence to evidence-based clinical guidelines and effective care. According to Kanakubo & Kharazi (2019), at the societal level, tangible benefits include improved ability to research since the patients’ data is electronically stored meaning more quantitative analyses to identify evidence-based best practices as they are readily available. (Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Be that as it may, practice changes are in order considering that EHRs also have some potential drawbacks that include but are not limited to temporary loss of productivity linked to EHR adoption leading to temporary revenue loss. Other workflow changes accompanied by privacy and security concerns and financial constraints associated with implementation costs and ongoing maintenance costs. To resolve these drawbacks, practice change is inevitable. (Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay has determined that several merits and demerits are associated with adopting EHRs. Majority of the benefits accrue to the patients and society. However, for their optimal realization, the government should continue to provide incentives that continue healthcare organizations to adopt EHR and meaningful use. Likewise, providers are expected to face the technological and logistical challenges in their quest to realize meaningful use of EHRs whether the HITECH Act incentives and those offered by Medicare and Medicaid are there or not.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
References
Devkota, B., & Devkota, A. (2013). Electronic health records: advantages of use and barriers to adoption. Health Renaissance, 11(3), 181-184.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Kanakubo, T., & Kharrazi, H. (2019). Comparing the trends of electronic health record adoption among hospitals in the United States and Japan. Journal of medical systems, 43(7), 1-13.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
Palabindala, V., Pamarthy, A., & Jonnalagadda, N. R. (2016). Adoption of electronic health records and barriers. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 6(5), 32643.(Pros and Cons of Electronic Health Records Comprehensive Nursing Paper Sample)
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