How does an E.H.R help improve patient care?
Providers grapple with many challenges when a patient is at the practice. Lack of information on patient history is certainly one of the most important ones. Imagine a situation where the patient is not carrying her previous medical history and is not able to completely elaborate on his/her past health issues. In such cases the provider has to, in many cases, start all over again in terms of initiating treatment.
On the other hand, if history was available, the provider can peruse the earlier history and get started with treatment as soon as possible. To mitigate this, doctors maintain health records in paper or electronic form. Paper documents can be cumbersome and time consuming, especially if not maintained well. On the other hand electronic health records are organized well and can be easily retrieved on the click of a button.
E.H.R’s help in legible and complete documentation of patient records. For providers, maintaining electronic health records means that costs get reduced because of decreased paperwork, improving patient safety and productivity of providers. Modern technology also protects patient privacy better than in the case of paper documentation. Electronic health records provide accurate, up-to-date and complete information about patients at the point of care. Sharing medical records with other treating medical professionals also becomes that much easier.
It can improve patient communication and reduce waiting time for appointments. E.H.R’s can easily access drug pharmacopoeia where drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions can be checked easily. E.H.R’s provide patients with easy-to-use and quick information about their health using medical summaries. Patients are encouraged to take ownership of and manage their health. A survey of doctors in the US indicates that 94% of providers report that their E.H.R makes patient records easily available at the point of care, 88% report that E.H.R produce clinical benefits for the practice and 75% of the providers report that E.H.R allows them to deliver better patient care. E.H.R’s can reduce errors, improve patient safety and support better patient outcomes.
Genamet, a new generation E.H.R targeting providers in India, focuses on usability, speed and comprehensive charting to improve patient care.