EHR (Electronic Health Records) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart.
EHR software contains patient details such as vaccination dates, medical records, medical history, lab test details, diagnosis, and many more.
EHR software provides accurate and up-to-date patient information and comprehensive medical information.
Physicians do not have to enter patient data every time a patient visits. Instead, providers can look up patient details in the EHR, and it displays all the information in the patient record. Therefore, doctors have a complete medical history of the patient to verify the patient’s diagnosis accordingly.
Each EHR provider provides the different functionalities of their EHR software. EHR software is intended for small clinics, mid-size hospitals, or large organizations.
The cost of the EHR software depends on the functionality of the EHR software. Therefore, you can ask your EHR provider to customize your EHR software according to your needs. You can also read more about EHR software and its vendors from here.
Reasons for using EHR software:
- Electronic health records software provides precise, up-to-date, and complete information of patients’ medical records to physicians.
- This software provides all details of a patient’s diagnosis, past medical history, progress notes, medication, allergies, and vitals. So, physicians can properly diagnose their patients according to the details.
- This software helps to improve productivity and also helps to improve healthcare.
- Physicians can access their patient’s medical records anytime and anywhere without any concern.
- EHR software also provides facility to access records from any devices like mobile, tablets, laptops, or computers
- Electronic health records software also provides one more amazing feature: sharing your patient’s details with other physicians, laboratories, insurance companies, hospitals, and organizations.
- This System is a cloud-based system, So you don’t have to purchase any hardware or software for using it.
- You don’t have to worry about collecting and maintaining all your patient’s data in a large room or warehouse because it provides efficient storage for that.
- Electronic health records software provides privacy and security against stealing and any harmless of your patient’s medical data.
- You don’t have to spend hours searching through any patient’s records. It’s only a few clicks away.
- You can spend more time with your patients because entering patients’ details is easy compared to writing down all details on paper.
- Your patients can also understand their medical records because it provides all details of their diagnosis.
- This software also provides a charting facility for easily viewing medical details.
- Your patient can communicate with you at any time without coming to clinics or hospitals.
What are the common features of EHR systems?
Each EHR systems have their specific features, but some are features that come with all EHR systems and those features lists are below:
Appointment Management:
Providers may handle all types of patient appointments with appointment management. For example, Providers can make appointments, view all appointments, and see which patients have arrived, are presently being examined, or have had their examination completed.
Appointment Reminder:
Providers can send notifications or alerts to patients via text messages, phone calls, or email if they want to remind them of upcoming visits.
Billing management:
Billing management is the process through which a health care provider electronically sends a bill, or claim, to a health insurance company or payer.
Clinical workflow:
Clinical workflow is a method for improving the efficiency of healthcare organizations by ensuring that patient records are correct, up-to-date, and accessible at all times.
Cloud-based System:
With a cloud-based system, providers don’t have to install any software or operating system to use the EHR System. As a result, cloud-based systems are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective.
Document management:
Document management stores and tracks all patient’s records electronically.
HIPAA Compliant:
Compliance with HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) needs the creation of national standards to shield confidential patient medical knowledge from revealing while not the consent or knowledge of the patient.
HIPAA Complaint rules, 1) Privacy rule and 2) Security rule
Patient’s History:
It contains the history of all patient’s medical records like diagnosis, vitals, allergies, progress details, medications, and many more details.
Patient’s Demographics:
Patient’s demographics contain basic information like date of birth to insurance company details.
Patient’s Portal:
Patients can access their medical documents, diagnosis documents, refill medication, and securely communicate with their providers.
EHRs vs. paper records: Pros and cons:
While many agree that electronic health records offer greater benefits than paper health records, electronic health records are not without flaws. Here are some of the key differences between paper records and electronic documents:
1) Security:
- Some believe that paper documents can be more prone to compromise due to intrusion, loss of a paper document due to human error, or damage to paper documents due to a natural disaster with thousands of medical records.
2) Time:
- Some providers have informed that EHRs save them 10 to 20 hours of documentation per week, giving them more time to spend with their patients.
- However, others argue that EHRs are a learning curve and require vendors or have staff to do the data entry.
- Some argue that doctors focus on the computer, not the patient, by clicking and typing in the room.
3) Environment:
- Digitizing medical records saves a lot of paper because a case’s medical record normally consists of hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages.
4) Cost:
- Large healthcare organizations may have to pay a billion dollars or more to buy and install EHR systems, and the technology can take months to implement. There can also be long-term digital storage costs associated with EHR.
- Paper documents require more humane filing management: storage and organization to access them and physical space costs.
- Any healthcare organization needs a meaningful cost analysis to compare spending and saving with EHR systems.
What are the types of Electronic Health Records Software?
Electronic Health Record software is mainly divided into three categories; if you are curious about these categories, Read further for that:
Physician-hosted System:
If you are a physician and want to use a physician-hosted system, you have to store all your patients’ data in your System’s server. You have to purchase hardware and software for that, and you are also responsible for maintaining your server’s data. In addition, you have to keep your patient’s data private and secure from any stealing or harm.
Remotely-hosted System:
A remotely-hosted System is a system where you have to store all your data on another entity’s server. That another entity is responsible for storing your data and maintaining data, keeping your data private and secure, or also responsible for backing your data. So, you don’t have to worry about storing data on your server.
Remote System:
Remote System is divided into three categories, and the following are the list of these categories:
Subsidized:
A subsidized system is one in which another organization sponsors the cost of an EHR. In most cases, a physician establishes this partnership with a hospital, owning the data.
Dedicated:
In a dedicated system, physicians store their data on their provider’s server, and these servers are located in different areas worldwide. So, Physicians can’t control their data storage or most functions.
Cloud:
Most of the EHR software is a cloud-based system. As a result, physicians don’t have to store data on their server, but providers store data “in the cloud.” This means that physicians don’t have to worry about their data because it is stored in a secure location and can access their data on the internet through providers’ websites.
You can compare different types of EHR software from here.
