-Difficulty in adding older records to an EHR system
-Long-term preservation and storage of records
-Synchronization of records
-Privacy
-Hardware limitations
-Cost Advantages and Disadvantages
-Start-up costs and software maintenance costs
Friday, August 1, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
[edit] Ideal characteristics of an electronic health record (EHR)
-Information should be able to be continuously updated.
-The data from an electronic health records system should be able to be used anonymously for statistical reporting for purposes of quality improvement, outcome reporting, resource management, and public health communicable disease surveillance.[16]
-The ability to exchange records between different electronic health records systems ("interoperability"[17]) would facilitate the co-ordination of healthcare delivery in non-affiliated healthcare facilities.
-The data from an electronic health records system should be able to be used anonymously for statistical reporting for purposes of quality improvement, outcome reporting, resource management, and public health communicable disease surveillance.[16]
-The ability to exchange records between different electronic health records systems ("interoperability"[17]) would facilitate the co-ordination of healthcare delivery in non-affiliated healthcare facilities.
Advantages of electronic medical records over paper records
A medical record includes any of an individual's health documents of the types listed above. Medical records may be on "physical" media such as film (X-rays), paper (notes), or photographs, often of different sizes and shapes. Physical storage of documents is problematic, as not all document types fit in the same size folders or storage spaces. In the current global medical environment, patients are shopping for their procedures. Many international patients travel to US cities with academic research centers for specialty treatment or to pariticiate in Clinical Trials. Coordinating these appointments via paper records is a time-consuming procedure and may violate the patient's HIPAA privacy.
Physical records usually require significant amounts of space to store them. When physical records are no longer maintained, the large amounts of storage space are no longer required. Paper, film, and other expensive physical media usage (and therefore cost) is also reduced with electronic record storage.
When paper records are stored in different locations, furthermore, collecting and transporting them to a single location for review by a healthcare provider is time-consuming. When paper (or other types of) records are required in multiple locations, copying, faxing, and transporting costs are significant, as are the concerns of HIPAA compliance.
In 2004, an estimate was made that 1 in 7 hospitalizations occurred when medical records were not available. Additionally, 1 in 5 lab tests were repeated because results were not available at the point of care. Electronic medical records are estimated to improve efficiency by 6% per year, and the monthly cost of an EMR is offset by the cost of only a few unnecessary tests or admissions.[5][6]
Handwritten paper medical records can be associated with poor legibility, which can contribute to medical errors.[7] Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. Electronic records help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies.
Electronic records keeping and order entry were found to reduce errors associated with handwritten documents and were recommended for widespread adoption.[1][8]
Physical records usually require significant amounts of space to store them. When physical records are no longer maintained, the large amounts of storage space are no longer required. Paper, film, and other expensive physical media usage (and therefore cost) is also reduced with electronic record storage.
When paper records are stored in different locations, furthermore, collecting and transporting them to a single location for review by a healthcare provider is time-consuming. When paper (or other types of) records are required in multiple locations, copying, faxing, and transporting costs are significant, as are the concerns of HIPAA compliance.
In 2004, an estimate was made that 1 in 7 hospitalizations occurred when medical records were not available. Additionally, 1 in 5 lab tests were repeated because results were not available at the point of care. Electronic medical records are estimated to improve efficiency by 6% per year, and the monthly cost of an EMR is offset by the cost of only a few unnecessary tests or admissions.[5][6]
Handwritten paper medical records can be associated with poor legibility, which can contribute to medical errors.[7] Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. Electronic records help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies.
Electronic records keeping and order entry were found to reduce errors associated with handwritten documents and were recommended for widespread adoption.[1][8]
Types of data stored in an electronic medical record
An electronic medical record might include:
-Patient demographics.
-Medical history, examination and progress reports of health and illnesses.
-Medicine and allergy lists, and immunization status.
-Laboratory test results.
-Radiology images (X-rays, CTs, MRIs, etc.)
-Photographs, from endoscopy or laparoscopy or clinical photographs.
-Medication information, including side-effects and interactions.
-Evidence-based recommendations for specific medical conditions
-A record of appointments and other reminders.
-Billing records.
-Advanced directives, living wills, and health powers of attorney
-Patient demographics.
-Medical history, examination and progress reports of health and illnesses.
-Medicine and allergy lists, and immunization status.
-Laboratory test results.
-Radiology images (X-rays, CTs, MRIs, etc.)
-Photographs, from endoscopy or laparoscopy or clinical photographs.
-Medication information, including side-effects and interactions.
-Evidence-based recommendations for specific medical conditions
-A record of appointments and other reminders.
-Billing records.
-Advanced directives, living wills, and health powers of attorney
Electronic health record
An electronic health record (EHR) refers to an individual patient's medical record in digital format. Electronic health record systems co-ordinate the storage and retrieval of individual records with the aid of computers. EHRs are usually accessed on a computer, often over a network. It may be made up of electronic medical records (EMRs) from many locations and/or sources. A variety of types of healthcare-related information may be stored and accessed in this way.
EHR systems can reduce medical errors. In one ambulatory healthcare study, however, there was no difference in 14 measures, improvement in 2 outcome measures, and worse outcome on 1 measure.
EHR systems are believed to increase physician efficiency and reduce costs, as well as promote standardization of care. Even though EMR systems with computerized provider order entry (CPOE) have existed for more than 30 years, less than 10 percent of hospitals as of 2006 have a fully integrated system.
EHR systems can reduce medical errors. In one ambulatory healthcare study, however, there was no difference in 14 measures, improvement in 2 outcome measures, and worse outcome on 1 measure.
EHR systems are believed to increase physician efficiency and reduce costs, as well as promote standardization of care. Even though EMR systems with computerized provider order entry (CPOE) have existed for more than 30 years, less than 10 percent of hospitals as of 2006 have a fully integrated system.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Electronic Records
It's estimated that more than 90% of the records being created today are electronic. Coupled with the overwhelming growth of electronic messages - most notably e-mail and instant messaging - the management of electronic records has become a critical business issue. How that information is managed has significant business, legal, and technology ramifications. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what medium is used to create, deliver, or store information when determining if content is a record and should be managed accordingly. Read articles on e-mail management, electronic discovery and metadata.
Special (other) Archives
Some archives defy categorization.
There are tribal archives within the Native American nations in North America, and there are archives that exist within the papers of private individuals.
Many museums keep archives in order to prove the provenance of their pieces. Any institution or persons wishing to keep their significant papers in an organized fashion that employs the most basic principles of archival science may have an archive.
There are tribal archives within the Native American nations in North America, and there are archives that exist within the papers of private individuals.
Many museums keep archives in order to prove the provenance of their pieces. Any institution or persons wishing to keep their significant papers in an organized fashion that employs the most basic principles of archival science may have an archive.
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