To day the “e” word is found to be associated with every thing, e-mail, e- health, e- commerce, e- empowered consumers etc. here “e” stands for “electronic”. Now one more addition-“EHR”- Electronic Health Record, also know as electronic patient record (EPR) or computerized patient record (CPR).
To day the “e” word is found to be associated with every thing, e-mail, e- health, e- commerce, e- empowered consumers etc. here “e” stands for “electronic”. Now one more addition-“EHR”- Electronic Health Record, also know as electronic patient record (EPR) or computerized patient record (CPR).
The EHR is an evolving concept nowadays, according to that doctors will not require pen and paper to record patient’s medical history, instead they will put all information about the medical status of a patient, digitally as an EHR. The EHR will be a collection of all information regarding patient’s health status including medical history, diseased conditions, medication, allergies, immunization status, various laboratory test results, radiology images etc. which can be shared across by different health care settings. Thus the EHR can generate a complete record of a clinical conditions, a patient came across. This will facilitate different health care provider to access the health status of a patient in better way and ultimately there would be better outcome and quality care.
Generally the EHR is generated and maintained within an institution such as hospital, integrated delivery network, clinic or physicians office. Many countries Health care sectors, including UAE are working towards centralizing and putting patients’ medical record in digital format.
The EHR not only fulfills the goals of creating medical record given by Hipocrateds, it also provides additional functional advantages that can not be possible with paper based system, such as
Better and Accurate Documentation
The EHR will help to conquer the problem of inaccurate data entry caused by illegible hand writings of physician. The accurate record will also help to reduce mal practice insurance premiums
Reduction of Cost
It is assumed that the use of EHR will reduce overall healthcare cost in the long run and will facilitate evidence based care.
Better Storage
With digital recording, huge amount of information can be stored in a tiny amount of space which will eliminate the problem of storing big paper files
Easy availability of information and better Medical care
The physician will have complete medical record a few clicks away that will allow them to have immediate access to the patient’s medical information. This will aid the faster and better response and a patient can be referred quickly to best treatment option which will ultimately reduce patient’s sickness duration.
Considering the advantage of EHR, the IT division of the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) UAE, had implemented a comprehensive Health information system recently.
Dr. Atul Mehta, Chief Medical Officer of SKMC commented, “This new feature allows our physicians to enter information on patient–physician encounters electronically. This will ultimately support our staff and clinicians in our continuing quest to provide the best healthcare to our patients. The addition of this feature supports our efforts to practice Evidence-Based Healthcare. The system creates physician orders and documents all medical information in accordance with best practice and the latest medical research. We believe we offer the best medical care in the country and the region, and we look forward to serving our patients with the most up to date state-of-the-art technologies.”
“It will add more functionality to improve the patient healthcare experience, greatly reduce the paper medical records, improve patient safety, enhance patient confidentiality and allow the sharing of a more complete Electronic Health Record (EHR) when visiting any SKMC clinic or hospital” says administrator.
Lets hope that every body move towards EHR and say bye bye to paper – a way towards “Green Earth”.