Unlocking the Power of Digital Healthcare: The Benefits and Features of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems

Manual handling of patient records has proved to be a cumbersome and unnecessarily arduous mode of operation for many modern practices, especially those with high numbers. This is why most of them have adopted EHR systems in their day-to-day, to handle voluminous records with ease.

 

An Electronic Health Record (EHR) System is a comprehensive digital record of a patient’s overall health. Although the term EHR is used interchangeably with EMR (Electronic Medical Record), the two have distinct scopes. The major differences between EHR and EMR is the context of their usage, their functionality and capabilities. While EHR presents a universal picture of the patient’s wellbeing, including lifestyle factors, past surgeries, immunisations, allergies, data from wearable technology and health tracking devices and relevant information like insurance and demographic data, EMR is limited to a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications and test results — information typically found on a paper chart. EMRs work well internally and are rarely shared outside a practice, while on the other hand most EHR systems are highly interoperable and travel well across practices and specialists.

 

What Are The Benefits Of Implementing an EHR System?

To reap the full benefits of an EHR system, hospitals and clinics must incorporate comprehensive electronic patient record management models, where data is an essential component at all levels. 

With this transition, clinicians and patients can benefit from:

1. Streamlined workflows
2. Improved efficiency and cost savings
3. Significant error reduction
4. Ease of transfer of patient data across the care continuum
5. Enhanced patient privacy
6. Increased patient participation in the care and recovery process
7. Higher patient satisfaction scores

Types of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems

These are the most prevalent EHR models in the market currently:

• On-premise EHRs: These systems are installed and run on a healthcare provider’s own servers, allowing them to maintain complete control over their data.
• Cloud-based EHRs: These systems are hosted remotely on the internet and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. They are often less expensive to implement than on-premise EHRs and require less technical expertise to manage; they are one of the most preferred solutions.
• Patient Portals: These are web-based applications that allow patients to access their own health information, such as test results, medication lists, and appointment schedules.
• Personal Health Records (PHRs): These are similar to patient portals, but they are managed entirely by patients themselves. PHRs allow patients to track their own health information and share it with healthcare providers as needed.
• Specialty EHRs: These systems are designed to meet the needs of specific medical specialties, such as paediatrics, cardiology, or oncology. They often include specialised templates and features that are tailored to the needs of the specialty.

How to Choose The Best Medical Record Keeping Solution

In a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex EHR landscape, where vendors are consistently creating highly advanced offerings, it can be difficult for you to choose the right package for your practice. However, there are some basic pointers that can help narrow down your choices. 

Here are the key factors to consider when selecting an EHR system:

• Technological infrastructure: This includes considerations such as whether the EHR is hosted on-premise or in the cloud, and what types of hardware and software is required and the accompanying costs.
• EHR Interoperability: The ability to integrate with other applications is critical for creating a unified, cohesive patient record from disparate sources.
• Customizability: Healthcare providers have varying needs and workflows, so the ability to tailor an EHR to their specific requirements is imperative.
• EHR Security and privacy: Protecting patient data is of utmost importance, so the EHR should include robust security and privacy features to safeguard against breaches and unauthorised access. One of the main issues arising from digital patient records is the possibility of leaks, so ensure that security features prominently in EHR features and functionalities of the solution you choose.

Additionally, you need to have an exhaustive conversation with your vendor of choice about their software, as part of your due diligence before signing a contract.

For instance, you should ask about:

Scalability costs: Find out how the cost of the platform/service will change as your practice grows to accommodate more patients.

Termination costs: Should you want to back out of a contract before it elapses, are there any penalty fees you’ll be required to pay?

Inflation: Your vendor should have a transparent and predictable cost model to show how their prices will vary over time.

Integration with internal and third-party software: Will it cost you more?

Updates: Ask how often they upgrade their systems, whether it comes with a financial implication and if there will be any down-time during maintenance processes.

How To Successfully Approach EHR Implementation

Implementing a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) system can be a significant challenge for healthcare organisations, requiring not only technical expertise but the ability to manage change and people effectively.

Although EHR systems have the potential to revolutionise the way healthcare is delivered and managed, their success depends largely on how they are utilised by healthcare providers. One key aspect of implementing an EHR system effectively is ensuring that all stakeholders are involved and engaged. This includes your clinical and administrative staff and your patients.This way, you can find out early on whether the EHR system is adequate, and mitigate any potential issues or risks in good time.

Another important consideration is the need for effective training and support. Implementing a new EHR system can be challenging for users, especially those who are accustomed to working with paper records, so it’s important to provide adequate training to ensure that everyone across the board is adept at using the new system.

Meddbase provides the best cloud-based EHR system that has been meeting the needs of practitioners and patients alike for almost two decades. The system can be accessed on any web-enabled device (including mobile phones) at no additional costs. This easy accessibility and portability is crucial in modern practices because it facilitates the mobility of healthcare providers in a highly unpredictable world.

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