As the world is switching towards online means and digital ways of storing data and information, the need to improve patient safety is at an all-time high importance. The medical field is working on ways to make data from patients secure and easy to manage. This is accomplished by electronic health records, commonly known as EHRs. EHRs are real-time records that contain your patient’s entire medical history and can be made available in case of an emergency.
Electronic health records can revolutionize the way patient data is stored and managed. If implemented universally, hospitals and medical practices will no longer need to store enormous files and paper records for each patient; instead, the information can be made available in a few clicks, improving the safety of records by many folds. EHRs have many benefits; the list below shows how electronic health records can improve a patient’s safety.
Ease in Prescribing Medication for Patients
EHRs can help you know what treatments or medications your patient is previously on. This can help you prescribe medicines that do not react negatively when coming into contact with the previously prescribed medicine or treatment. EHRs can also help you see whether a patient has any allergies; this can also help prescribe medicines that are safe for the patient.
Reminders and Alerts Assist to Improve Patient Safety
The EHR system can be used to keep track of your patient’s treatment. Alerts can be sent to the patient’s phone to remind them of their appointment. This can be beneficial for newborns and infants who require different vaccines over the years. Alerts can be sent to their parents, so they never miss out or forget their child’s vaccine. Other than this, alerts can also be used when a patient has missed an appointment or if there is an error in their health records.
Easier Diagnosis Helps the Doctor and Patient
If a patient’s complete medical information is available to the doctor while deciding their diagnosis, it can make the process much more convenient and save both the doctor and the patient’s time. You can also check the results of the patient’s recent tests such as blood tests or X-ray’s etc. These can help save the patient money as they no longer need to carry out multiple tests to satisfy different doctors.
An EHR Makes Emergencies Less Stressful
Emergencies can be filled with stress; if a patient is unconscious, their family and friends often spend hours to get their medical records from their primary caretaker. In some emergencies, time is critical, and wasting it to get records can prove fatal for some patients. In such cases, having an electronic health record can prove to be very beneficial. With an EHR, you can easily get data from the patient’s primary health provider or family member within minutes.
Quicker Treatment for Your Patient
Practices that use EHRs have reported that their treatment times are much faster than those that do not have EHRs. These records allow doctors to view a full picture of their patient’s health, which can help make the diagnosis and treatment plan according to the patient’s needs. EHRs can also help doctors in renewing prescriptions and making appointments at a faster rate.
Improvement in Decision Making with the Help of Electronic Health Records
Having a complete record of a patient’s health helps you and your staff to make better decisions for the patient. For example, a patient undergoing chemotherapy will not be prescribed certain antibiotics and anti-fungal medication as these can severely damage the person’s health and can result in fatal conditions. Having a record of the patient’s health allows doctors to make informed choices regarding their medication.
Applications and Ease of Sharing Data
Electronic health records make it possible for hospitals or health care providers to develop applications that allow their patients to view their health data very easily. Mobile applications and portals make it easier for patients to share data with their loved ones and other doctors they visit. If a patient visits multiple doctors for various reasons, their treatment plans and medications can easily be shared with the other doctors as well. This helps you to have a holistic view of a person’s health. Uninformed decisions on the doctor’s part can be fatal for the patient. Informed decisions help improve patient safety.
Electronic Health Records are very beneficial for patient safety. EHRs can help the patients become part of their own care process instead of simply being a passive subject. Consider a company like eMDs that has been helping practices like yours set up their electronic health records for more than 23 years. It allows patients to make their medical history easier to understand and aims to combine the latest technology and services to ensure patient safety. eMDs is easy to use and is a well-known and respected name in medicine and health due to its unique approach towards expert solutions and healthier patients.
