Provision of quality healthcare has long been the rationale behind Electronic Medical Records and their usage. With the automation of medical records, the healthcare community seeks to establish the use of dynamic health information. Analyzing healthcare data can help providers track core issues and derive plausible solutions. Interoperability of healthcare information would not only enhance medical response time, but would also ensure quality care.
Comprising of all the relevant patient health information, the primary objective is to create a single unified record. Electronic Medical Records can compile the complete medical history of patients, without the physicians having to search for them manually.
Jon White, Director of Health Information Technology of the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says, “The promise is that they’re going to help us deliver better care with better outcomes. But you can’t just have an EMR you have to learn to use the tools in the right way.”
Electronic Medical Record softwares are interoperable with commonly used medical devices and equipments as the age of mobile connectivity is upon us. EMRs can virtually store patient test images for later retrieval or electronic sharing. Through utilization of integrated PACs, interfacing with labs and pharmacies allow for instant access to test results, adding convenience for both the physician and the patient by eliminating test duplication.
Effectively connecting the healthcare sector, Electronic Medical Record Software are enabling new channels of communication and collaboration with enhanced information storage, access and dissemination capability. EMRs have overcome most of the bottlenecks associated with healthcare, although its use still remains limited. However, the full potential of Electronic Medical Records are yet to be realized.
EMR Software 
EMR Software needs to be unified. Period.
It was a great idea until competition became more important than patient safety.
The IOM has stats that are shocking – 70% of errors are due to medical mistates – 9o% are preventable (2008 info). ANd, Medical errors are the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S.
Poor EMRs are contributing to this.
I know first hand – I am one of the patients that has highly inaccurate EMRs in several hospitals – because they are NOT linked. If they were linked to my PCO’s office, everything would be great.
I have already received incorrect meds when I was hspitalized last year due to incorrect info in their “computers.”
The use of individual EMERs across multiple local hospitals has made a complete and inaccurate mess of my medical history, medication history and drug allergy information. The most serious allergies – the ones that can kill me are not even listed. My medications are listed incorrectly, and meds I never was prescribed are listed on my records.
Also, the poorly trained personal that input info into these systems is abysmal. I thoroughly blame the hospitals for not using EMRs that can interface and for hiring incompetent nonprofessional staff that don’t know the names of common medications, common medical abbreviations or basic medical terminology.
For this reason, I carry around a 5-6 page printout with my entire medical hitory to each doctor appointment to make sure the correct information is in front of every provider I see.
Too bad the hospitals cannot find competent people to input this information and prevent mistake, readmissions and deaths.
Work on unification of EMRs – not competition.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience regarding your EMR use. Please note that not all EMRs do this, especially with systems which are interoperable. When choosing your vendor, always make sure that they are certified and have an EHR system that is interoperable, i.e., which can seamlessly exchange updated data between hospitals and PCO offices. For a fact, i know of a vendor which can ease your mentioned troubles.. do check them out through the link below.
http://www.curemd.com
Also, i thank you for reading my article and sharing your experience with everyone. People like you who are concerned with healthcare technology and its usage are going to make healthcare better in this country by sharing experiences which can help vendors provide better solutions and services. Thank you!