Why EMR Technology Is Important in Healthcare

Why Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Technology is Important in Healthcare

best emr technology

EMR also known as electronic medical record is a digital version of recording medical information in the traditional way, representing all medical information at one place like the clinic or the doctor’s office.

What is an Electronic Medical Record?

EMR is an abbreviation for electronic medical records. Electronic medical records are more than just an alternative to paper medical records. They allow for a better coordination between healthcare professionals and departments, which helps provide the best possible service.

When you read a person’s electronic medical records, you can find information about that person’s treatment data and medical history. These records are collected by the patient’s doctor. Automated Medical Records keep track of all their past treatments and diagnosis.

In the modern world, EMR technology are becoming standard. In fact, they’re slowly but surely becoming a part of a new government requirement that is centered around the safe collection, storage and access of patients’ medical data.

An EMR includes information about a specific patient, including:

  • Patient contact information, including emergency contact(s)
  • Vitals, such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and body temperature
  • Past and future medical facility appointments
  • Physician orders
  • Prescriptions
  • Medical progress and surgical notes
  • Consent to release information forms
  • Allergies
  • Past medical history
  • Billing information, such as insurance
  • Discharge summaries and treatment plans

There are mainly two places for this. These include:

  1. MER software manages the organization, creation and retrieval of electronic patient records. This software does not allow you to share any electronic records with any other organization, unlike EHR or electronic health records and software.
  2. Generally, an EMR solution permits clinicians and physicians to manage:

A typical EMR solution allows Physicians and Clinicians to easily manage

  • Patient charts: Build patient charts electronically including clinical health histories, demographics, medications, progress notes, immunization records, lab results and others.
  • Lab orders: Creates and sends orders electronically for medical tests, lab work and consultations.  
  • Billing: Captures all management and evaluation also known as E&M codes.  
  • Billing: Capture all evaluation and management codes at the point of care to ensure complete invoices and eliminate down coding.

EMR Technology Basic Features

basic-features-emr
  • Amend encounter
  • Alerts and reminders
  • Appointment management
  • Chart management
  • Invoicing and Billing
  • Drug-to-drug interaction and Drug allergy
  • ePrescribing
  • Physician order entry
  • Recall tracking and medication
  • Physician order entry

EMR Technology Advanced Features includes:

  • Investigation questionnaire
  • Anatomical designation
  • Medication tracking
  • Patient self-assessment
  • Mobile and wireless access
  • Practice patterns and standards
  • P4P or pay for performance management
  • Scheduling interface
  • Voice records and voice recognition
  • Tablet/Touch screen
advanced-features-emr

Other Features That May be Included in An EMR Solution

  • Decision support and Clinical care
  • Clinical pathways integration
  • Template management
  • Clinical flow sheets
  • HL7 lab interface
  • Document management and scanning
  • Prescription drug database
  • Patient portal and education

The Advantages of an EMR

Benefits of EMRs for Patients

  • Quicker care and complete assessment from medical experts.
  • Information and results are traced with time.
  • Improved health treatment, diagnosis and better quality care
  • Look for patients who have visits and screenings left.
  • Better security and privacy of all patient’s data
  • Low chances of errors and better patient care.
  • Evidence-based decisions for better treatment
  • Enable evidence-based decisions at point of care
  • Follow-up information after every visit such as self-care instructions, reminders for other follow-up care, and links to web resources.
  • Access to patient’s own records to view medications and keep up with lifestyle changes that have improved their health.

Benefits of EMRs for Clinics

  • Saving space by deleting paper records needing to be managed, retrieved and stored.
  • Better workflow and rise in the total number of patients treated everyday.
  • Minimized operational costs and administrative difficulties
  • Interface smoothly with pharmacies, hospitals, state health systems and labs.
  • Customizable and scalable electronic records
  • Gather and analyze patient data that enables outreach to discreet populations
  • Offers clinical reminders and alerts
  • Improve documentation and coding
  • Enhance research and monitoring for improvements in clinical quality
  • Provide built-in safeguards against prescribing treatments that would result in adverse events
  • Better coding and documentation
  • Links to public health systems such as registries and communicable disease databases

Why is EMR Technology Important for Healthcare Industry?

EMR Technology offers a range of benefits to physicians as well as the technology industry. Healthcare professionals would have to adapt if they weren’t used as broadly in practice.

Electronic medical records are a new & exciting development in healthcare. With these, hospitals can easily save loads of space with virtual records that don’t need to be stored in the building. In this modern world, the population is constantly growing and each doctor will gradually have more patients. – As the number of patients grows, so will the number of patient records. Providing more storage space may not be financially feasible for smaller clinics.

Using electronic medical records can potentially save a huge amount of time. This is because the records can be accessed quickly, for example by tapping on a file on a device. EMRs are sometimes hosted on different computers and can be stored on secure servers, which can make it difficult for healthcare professionals to find specific records. These types of systems are designed to be easy for the user so that they don’t have difficulty in finding files like x-rays or lab results. Online, EMR’s are organised and stored for easy access. All a doctor has to do is enter a name or date of birth, and the information is found in seconds

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FAQs

Q1. What are the 3 types of health records?

Health records can be classified as Electronic health records (EHRs), electronic medical records (EMRs), and personal health records (PHRs).

Q2. What is the difference between EMR and EHR?

EMRs are digital copies of patient medical history and treatment. EHRs, on the other hand, offer a detailed view of a patient’s health across multiple providers and healthcare organizations.

Q3. What is the difference between EMR and EHRs in terms of HIPAA?

Both systems must comply with HIPAA regulations for patient privacy and security. But  EHRs have more advanced security features because they share information across multiple providers and organizations.

Q4. What information does an  EMR store?

An EMR  has the patient’s basic information, medical history, diagnoses, medications, allergies, lab results, radiology images, and treatment plans.

Q5. Do hospitals use EHR or EMR Technology?

Most hospitals use EHRs. They are more in-depth and detailed- as they store information across multiple providers and healthcare organizations.

Q6. What is the best EMR for a small/medium practice?

The best EMR for a particular practice will depend on the specific needs and requirements. Contact the VcDoctor team and get a free quote today. 

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Sanjeev Agrawal

Sanjeev Agrawal

My name is Sanjeev Agrawal. I am a Director and Co-founder of Dreamsoft4u, IT Consulting Company. I am having a keen interest in the latest trends and technologies that are emerging in different domains. Being an entrepreneur in the field of the IT sector, it becomes my responsibility to aid my audience with the knowledge of the latest trends in the market.