An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a computerized medical record. It typically contains all of the information stored in a paper medical record – progress reports, diagnoses, prescription records, treatment histories, X-rays, and the like – though it may be limited to a subset of a paper medical record. The most commonly cited advantage of adopting EHRs is the tremendous amount of space saved. Instead of keeping huge paper files on all patients, records are kept on computer files, thus limiting the amount of physical space needed to store files. However, this is only one of a myriad of benefits to using EHR.

One significant advantage of using EHRs is the ability for all members of the health care team to coordinate care. This helps decrease the number of duplicate tests and reduces potential drug interactions. Patients with complex health issues may see numerous specialists and may receive overlapping or – even worse – contrary advice. When all treating physicians utilize the same system for electronic records, the entire health care team is able to see all the other providers’ actions and recommendations and better collaborate in the patient’s care.

In addition to saved space and coordination of care, other advantages to EHRs include:

• Saves time:  EHRs offer instantaneous access to records; no more faxing and emailing requests and waiting for responses.
• Ease of understanding:  no more deciphering illegible handwritten chart notes.
• Improved health care quality and safety.
• Increased clinical and administrative efficiency.
• Better communication between patients and physicians.

Look for additional information regarding EHRs in your upcoming provider newsletter.

This entry is filed under Blog.