Electronic Medical Records and Health Care Communication

1006 Words5 Pages
Electronic Medical Records and Health Care Communication Electronic medical record (EMR) is the term used to describe a patient’s medical record when it is in a digital format. A patient’s medical record is stored electronically to improve accessibility, which can save time and money for the provider and patient. EMRs can also help to facilitate information exchanges, improve quality of care, and decrease the incidence of errors in patient records. While EMRs can boost provider efficiency, there are concerns pertaining to the potential for information privacy breeches, costs to set up and maintain a system, and ability to train personnel to operate the system. Advantages and Disadvantages of EMRs According to Rabinowitz (2007), “advantages of EMRs are improved patient care, accessible patient data, increase patient time, and better communication and collaboration”. The increased accessibility of patient’s record in electronic form is improved patient care, communication, and collaboration by presenting information in a way that prompts physicians to interact with their patients. “Physicians who used EMRs accomplished information-related tasks—such as checking and clarifying information, encouraging patients to ask questions, and ensuring completeness at the end of patients’ visits—to a greater extent than did physicians who used paper records” (Shachak, Hadas-Dayagi, Ziv, & Reis, 2009, p. 342). When physicians engage their patients and patients feel empowered to work with their physician towards their health related goals, viable solutions that work for the patient can be found. One of the main disadvantages of EMRs is costs related to the set-up, up keep, and training necessary to implement the system. According to Rabinowitz (2007), “initial EMR setup costs at 14 small physician practices averaged $44,000 per full-time provider, with an additional

More about Electronic Medical Records and Health Care Communication

Open Document