Electronic Patient Records Impact on Healthcare Industry

There are clear advantages to implementing an Electronic Patient Record in hospitals and practices of all sizes. The hospital environment is a fast-paced environment with demanding results needed to separate life from death. There is a drastic need for information to be accurate, precise, and timely. Electronic Patient Records allow for all information relating to a patient to be stored in one location – the patient’s profile to be accessed by any authorised official within the organisation. We’ve compiled some advantages to using an Electronic Patient Record system.

1. Clinical Benefits

One of the least talked about benefits of using an Electronic Patient Record system is legibility. Instead of reviewing hand-written doctors’ notes across departments, digital records allow for clear communication and understanding between clinicians. For example, writing prescriptions has been one of the more prevalent areas where medical errors have occurred.

Additionally, in prescribing medication, Electronic Patient Records have functionality that limits adverse reactions and notifies clinicians about contraindications. Thereby reducing the risk involved in medication-related errors.

2. Patients can access their own data

Patient Portals are ever-evolving especially given the current need for remote consultations. EPR allows patients to access their own health data so they can perhaps share the data with another physician or view updated test results or x-rays.

Allowing patients to access and view their own records encourages their involvement in their own healthcare and quality of health services.

3. Analytics

The availability of such dynamic data allows for clinicians and their organisations to monitor patterns and encourage areas of improvement. This data is very important in monitoring projects, customer delivery statistics, and quality assurance. These reports and analytics are necessary for improvements and risk mitigation.

Stay tuned as we divulge the benefits of effectively using Electronic Patient Records within a hospital and small clinic setting.