In the Healthcare industry, a patient’s medical history is of prime importance as treatment depends largely on medical records. The previous ailments, diagnosis, medication, and appointments are recorded by healthcare professionals to streamline care coordination of patients. This record-keeping has been simplified with the advent of the digital storage of the records which can be used by the doctors and other staff members to access the present condition and work for the patient’s betterment. Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) are the two ways of storing the patient’s health data and they both have their purposes. The terms are used interchangeably but they have some peculiar differences in medical terms.
EMR (Electronic Medical Record)
Simply put, EMRs are the digital version of the papers in a medical clinic and hospital. The records are collected by the medical practitioners and contain the medical and treatment history of patients and other critical notes which are used by the providers for diagnosis of diseases and treatment within the premises. In comparison to the paper records, EMRs serve a greater purpose as it helps the medical staff in the following:
- Checking which patients are due for preventive visits and screenings
- Track data of all the patients over time
- Helps in improving the quality of care provided to the patients
- Monitoring the health status of the patients by checking parameters like blood pressure readings and vaccinations.
EMRs are useful within the vicinity of the clinic and hospital but does not work well outside the practice. An EMR cannot travel out of the practice and will have to be printed and mailed to the consultants and specialists. In this regard, they are no better than paper records.
EHR (Electronic Health Record)
Electronic health records have a vital function in the treatment of a patient as it focuses on the health record of the patient other than the clinical data provided by the EMRs. It contains information found on a paper chart and a lot more related to the medical history of the patients. An EHR of a patient will have data related to the past medical history, critical notes, diagnosis reports, medications assigned by the practitioners, allergies, laboratory test reports, progress notes, immunizations dates, and imaging data. It may also contain data from personal wellness devices, insurance information, and demographic data which can be useful for the patient.
Benefits of EHR:
- The records are used by the healthcare staff to provide quality care and services to the patients and to check their overall health improvement
- EHRs are easy to share across practices and health organizations and can be made accessible to authorized providers for better healthcare coordination
- All the facilities like laboratories, pharmacies, specialists, and imaging units involved in the patient’s care can share the data to derive meaningful results
From the point of patient care and treatment, Electronic health records are a potent tool in coordinating care among facilities and creating a progressive healthcare ecosystem.
eMDs Electronic Health Record Features
eMDs EHR solutions are advanced tools that are fast, customizable, intuitive and can help small or large practices to use technology for the enhanced physician-patient experience. Some of the distinctive features of eMDs EHR are discussed below:
Easy Reporting with eMDs EHR Solutions
Quality reporting is one of the important parameters for any EHR solution. A patient’s progress depends a lot on the timely sharing of crucial data so that medical practitioners can take decisions based on history and other parameters. The EHR uses the MACRA dashboard for real-time reporting of data that the practices can track on the go. The dashboard provides clarity on the individual chart notes and other relevant medical points.
Interoperability Capabilities of a Good EHR
With the changes in our industry, keeping paper trails of data is a thing of the past. Secure, patient-centered Information is the key to providing quality care services to the patients and to optimizing the patient outcome, secure and patient-centered information is expected to be shared among practices. The EHRs interoperability provides a platform to share the information across various channels and ensure it is available in clinical friendly workflows. It further helps in optimizing the information management at the clinical level and provide outcome-driven care to the patients. With a goal to support better overall care coordination and to help with cost control, interoperability be more patient-friendly rather than replacing an outdated process.
Interactive Interfaces
The EHR tool has more than 3,500 interfaces and an extensive library of templates that can be used adjusted quickly as per the workflow of the practice.
EHRs have extensive uses in the healthcare industry and the customizable features of the tools allow for information sharing across channels. The tools can assist the clinics and hospitals in providing quality and personalized care to the patients which are the crux of the healthcare industry.
