EHR Technology

REPLY1 “Meaningful Use” is applied to the extent to which a health care provider/organization uses electronic health records (EHR). Defined as; Use of certified EHR in a meaningful way, the use of certified EHR technology for the electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of health care, and the use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality reporting and other measures (Glaser, 2018). EHR provides accurate and complete information about patients’ health. Hence, the health care provider is able to provide the best care possible. Coordination for the care provided by the health caregiver will be more efficient. An effective way of sharing information with the patient together with his/her family. Significantly the health care providers will have the necessary data to diagnose the health problems sooner, reduce medical errors, and also care will be provided at a lower cost. Not forgetting communication between health professionals and health entities will be more efficient and effective. The data is captured in coded format and expands the exchange of information in the most structured way to elevate clinical processes and better health outcomes by placing more emphasis on clinical conditions that are of priority, patient self-management, and access to comprehensive data. It can be related when one is taking care of patients. There is always more emphasis on critical conditions, and the patient’s self-management has to be into consideration. Access to comprehensive data about the patient is also of significance when taking care of a patient. I had a patient who was checking in for his checkups after two weeks. Keeping records of his progress was necessary at this particular moment. Thanks to EHR, coordination for the care I was to provide each time he visited was on track, which led to acceleration on his recovery. I have not encountered any negative impact that comes with the use of EHR. It’s a reliable and effective program that leads to better health care services. REPLY2 Electronic health records (EHRs) are used across clinical care and healthcare administration to capture a variety of medical information from individual patients over time, as well as to manage clinical workflows. (Ehrenstein et al, 2019) According to the article, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) will improve patient care, decrease practice costs, and increase provider productivity and revenue. (Chin & Sakuda, 2012) At my work, EHRs help nurses and doctors work effectively and productively. By using EHRs, we can share patient’s medical history, medications, labs, and progress notes, so we can just check it and provide necessary care right away to patients without asking other medical professionals about patient information. In addition, data shared in EHRs can help clinicians choose the right medication for a patient with allergies (Steger, 2017), and it prevents medication errors.  The barriers to the implementation of EHRs include potentially high financial investments, an increase in initial physician and staff training time, workflow redesign efforts, and the need to hire new staff for HIT support, an EHR creates a database of information that will assist in the coordination of patient care and improvement of communication about shared patients among health care providers. (Chin & Sakuda, 2012) At my work, I have seen some nurses and doctors were struggling with using EHRs because they used to do paper documentations about their patient care. They had to take extra time to complete documentation. In addition, sometimes the information of EHRs is not updated timely, and it makes miscommunication between doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.  For more information on EHR Technology read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_health_records_in_the_United_States