Electronic Medical Records


Medical records are an extremely important part of patient care. Medical records contain information on a patient's visits, lab reports, prescriptions, and diagnosis. Medical records allow a physician to keep a running record of patient history in a manner that can be shared with other physicians should it become necessary. Electronic medical records can be more efficient than traditional medical records.

Levels of Electronic Medical Records

There are several levels of electronic medical records.
  • An automated medical report is predominately a paper medical report, but does have some computer-based information.

  • A computerized medical record makes all paper-based records available on a computer.

  • An electronic medical record has many features, including enabling staff to check records at different locations and streamlining scheduling and insurance claims. An electronic health record incorporates a patient's history and pulls information from other sources to assist in providing proper health care.
Benefits of Electronic Medical Records

There are a number of benefits to having electronic medical records for physicians. An electronic medical record saves time, providing information quickly. This type of system takes up less space than traditional medical records and can store information from multiple facilities “in one place.”

It can streamline operations such as setting appointments and issuing insurance claims. More than one staff member can view a patient's record at the same time with an electronic medical record system. Electronic medical records provide more flexibility in operations and in gathering and storing information for future use.

Some electronic medical record systems allow patients to access their own records either from their physician's office or from home. Some systems also help provide patients with information that might be relevant to their care.

Disadvantages of Electronic Medical Records

As there are no standards in this industry yet, each system must be customized for an individual practice, making the costs higher than they may be in the future. Therefore, one disadvantage of electronic medical records is the cost of installing a system. It can take time for an electronic medical records system to pay for itself.

Conversion to electronic medical records can be very time consuming. It can also be very time consuming to learn how to use electronic medical records, particularly if the individual system is not user-friendly or some staff members have an aversion to technology.

Confidentiality is a concern not only to physicians, but to patients. As with all data that can be electronically transmitted, there is always a concern that someone will be able to figure out how to access that data without the patient's or physician's permission.

By Laura Evans           


Related Links: