Electronic Medical Records Improve Clinical Decision Making
FACT: Adverse Drug Events (ADE) are responsible for 2.1 million injuries and 100,000 deaths every year, equivalent to two 737’s crashing everyday.4 American Medical Association.
Electronic Medical Record software is packed with many tools to help doctors make better decisions. These range from diagnosis to prescribing medications to treatment plan recommendations. Most EMR's have built in PDR-based medication dictionaries. These provide doctors with Adverse Drug Event (ADE) alerts, generic drug recommendations and dosage recommendations. EMR's are also capable of making treatment recommendations based off a patient’s diagnosis. Health maintenance reminders help keep the doctor and his/her staff updated on what treatments or checkups the patient is due for through an automatic alert or report in the EMR. By providing providers with more information about the patient through the integration of external sources (labs, pharmacies, imaging centers, hospitals) the provider is capable of making better, educated decisions.
EMR Software means Enhanced Documentation
Through the use of computer network technology Electronic Medical Record software allows more than one user to access a patient's chart at the same time. This helps ensure a more complete and accurate chart as all the information can be entered in real-time. With the new HIPAA laws, many offices using paper charts are exposing themselves to unnecessary risks, including losing charts, loss of all charts due to natural disasters, theft, etc. Most EMR's come equipped with a security administration module enabling administrators to manage access to patient records through user permissions. One of the greatest advantages to having patient documentation computerized is the ability to manipulate data for reporting capabilities. This becomes very useful for research reports, statistics, health maintenance reminders, drug recalls and patient marketing.
Electronic Medical Records Enhance Patient Care
Finally, the benefit of offering better patient care, though difficult to quantify may be the greatest benefit. Many doctors are now taking advantage of the internet to conduct web consultations. Being able to access patient data from anywhere in the world via a secure connection even allows the doctor to conduct web consultations or generate reports from home. Health maintenance reminders that can be automatically generated from an EMR system also contribute to providing improved patient care.
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