Modern Day Health Records

An EHRs or Electronic Health Record, as defined by the Health Information Management System’s Society’s (HIMSS), is “a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting” (National, 1). EHRs include the patient’s demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, and even radiology reports. Therefore, everything that was previously stored on paper and in filing cabinets, is now stored in computer environments that allow the patient’s information to be viewed or manipulated from electronic devices such as desktops, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and soon iPhones and Blackberries.
The development of EHRs began in the 1960s. It was reported in 1965 that at least 73 hospitals and clinical information projects and 28 projects for storage and retrieval of medical documents and other clinically-relevant information were underway. By the 90s it was estimated that about 14% of hospitals and doctor offices had implemented the use EHRs. A goal has been set that by the year 2010 at least 80% of hospitals and 50% of doctor’s offices are using EHRs. Today, just under 60% of hospitals are using EHRs. The other near 40% are unable to support the cost involved in making the use of EHRs possible.
EHRs have eight major functions; health information and data, results management, order management, decision support, patient support, administrative processes, reporting, and electronic communication connectivity. More specifically Electronic Health Records are used to store basic information on the patient, such as weight, height, allergies, diagnoses, etc., new and past test results, medications, and much more using uniform data standards that is purely confidential. They can also be used to alert or remind physicians to perform regular screenings or tests, identify drug interactions, and to facilitate diagnoses and treatments. Lastly, EHRs not only allow access to other clinicians and physicians, but they also enable patients to view their own medical records, which makes home monitoring and testing much easier.
There are a few key advantage points of using EHRs. The first being the overall reduction in healthcare costs. Although getting the system started costs over $30,000 per physician, the amount of money saved makes switching from paper methods to electronic methods well worth it; the majority of the money that is saved it through medical imaging and the reduction in medical errors. Since creating duplicates of medical images, such as x-rays, costs so much, including them in the EHRs cuts duplicating costs a significant amount. The accuracy of EHRs also helps reduce the number medical errors, which in turn reduces the funds spent on further care. Another advantage of electronically recording health information is the improvement in the general quality of care. The new fast access to medical literature and best practices at the current time enable continuing advances in healthcare effectiveness. Not only do EHRs help physicians be more aware of what medicines are most effective for a specific diagnosis, but they also enable easier communication between the physician, patients’ insurance provider, and pharmacists. The last primary advantage of using EHRs is to support evidence-based medicine; this meaning the more nationwide amounts of data collected, the higher the degree of effective medical practices can be achieved.
I chose to do further research on EHRs because the little I knew about them I found quite intriguing. My boyfriend, who works at Allscripts-Mysys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. which is a leading HER provider in the country, had told me some brief details about the systems, how they work and why they are used, therefore I thought it would be interesting to dig a little deeper. I also thought it was interesting that my own physician switched from paper records, just last year, to using Electronic Healthcare Records this year.
I believe that Electronic Healthcare Records are indisputably related to science because they are making large advances in technological healthcare. This system allows physicians to do a lot more, more easily and faster than in previous years with traditional paper records.


Sources Cited:
"EHR Overview Home." ehrCentral Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. http://www.providersedge.com/ehr_overview.htm.

"HIMSS - Electronic Health Record (EHR)." HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society). N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. .
"Medicare Part B Imaging Services." United States Government Accountability Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. www.gao.gov/new.items/d08452.pdf.

"National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources." Electronic Health Records Overview. The MITRE Corporation, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. www.ncrr.nih.gov/publications/informatics/ehr.pdf.