Introduction
VA_EHR is a fascinating topic whose information has a lot of impact in nursing informatics and determines the welfare of patients and the health care sector as a whole. As we explore more in this topic, we will get to find out more reasons as to why present health facilities are obligated to switch their information systems to Electronic Health Records –EHR. Nursing and health care as a whole is one the most crucial fields that entails handling human life. Finding better, easier and safer ways of meeting this need is the most important aspect in health care. Another reason for using, managing and improving the information systems is to help minimize the workload that comes with it, which will therefore assist health care givers to have an ample time in giving proper services as required and expected.
The need to curb faults and errors in the information systems that contributes to unsafe health care provision, has led to upgrading and usage of advanced ways of data entry and information storage. The advancement and development of digital technology has seen a transformation in health-care infrastructure. With the invention of EHRs – Electronic Health Records, which has been improving since its development, there have been great changes and positive outcomes in health-care deliverance and patients’ health information. Whereas Electronic Medical Record is made up of simple standard clinical and medical information obtained from its provider, Electronic Health Records (EHR) contain information collected from its major providers and is made up of more detailed and comprehensive patients’ information and Medical history (HealthIT.gov, 2016).
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Patients have therefore received proper diagnosis, treatment and management of their health issues promoting safety in healthcare. The process of revisiting a patient’s health history has been dealt with since the needed information is easily extracted as it is computerized. In more ways than one health care has been transformed for the better of all involved. Throughout this assignment we shall be able to critically analyze ethical and legal concerns related to nursing informatics while using, designing, managing, and upgrading information systems. Also we shall have a look at clear descriptions of health information systems within healthcare setting and the profession of nursing in all practice domains and settings including electronic health records (EHR), their management and patient-care information technology. Lastly, we will extensively explore trends and issues in NI and their impact on nursing practice in all domains.
Benefits of switching to Electronic Health Records – EHR
The major reason for EHR implementation in most health facilities is to reduce medical errors that affect health care provision greatly. An individual’s health is a very delicate matter and needs to be handled with extra caution to ensure the safety of the patient involved. For this matter, EHRs have contributed highly to ensure that patient’s safety does not tamper with. For instance, the consistency and intelligence in record keeping help physician know the patient’s medications, allergies, and newly prescribed medication ( HealthIT.gov, 2016) . This helps the physician to avoid prescribing a medication that might conflict with the medication the patient is taking and thus preventing complications that might have arisen.
All the departments have access to the patient’s health information. This is very important especially in cases of emergencies where the patient is never in a position to communicate and give the needed information. With the help of EHRs, the physicians handling the emergency case are in a position to access vital health information of the patient enabling them to have an easy and more professional way in giving the necessary care needed by the patient, hence saving a life.
In reference to this article Bowman (2013), the development of EHRs has contributed to the rise in patients’ involvement in their own healthcare. Patients are able to access their own medical information and records electronically. This, in turn, helps them to effectively communicate with their physician, identify their dates of appointments and know everything about their condition. Informed patients, are likely to finish their medications, are hard to miss their medical appointments, and will take their medical prescriptions correctly (Bowman, 2013). In turn, this has contributed to a more reliable, safer and accurate health-care.
EHRs demand that healthcare workers should enter information electronically and this makes the records more legible and consistent. Data entry is automatically standardized and the only certain information is allowed to be entered in the respective fields. For this matter, identification of errors is automatic especially when they lack the requirements in the electronic system. This has helped in the systematic identification and correction of operational issues like similar patients’ records or names (Admin, 2012) . The electronic recording makes it easier to correct these problems and therefore puts physicians in a better position to offer the right and safe treatment and health-care to the right patients. Healthcare providers have the opportunity to perform much faster in more complex duties and are able to offer and give the right medication to its patients. They are also able to monitor the progress of their patients as they administer the right medication to them, thus identifying if there is a need to change treatment or add medication to their clients or better services (Admin, 2012) .
Disadvantages of EHRs
Despite the positive impacts of EHRs towards health-care and more specifically in patients, flaws and errors keep emerging in EHRs systems in most health care facilities thus affecting health-care and patients negatively. These flaws may cause issues in the EHR systems that might put the lives of patients at risk and thus can reduce the quality of healthcare provided in the health facilities. For example, EHRs depends highly on the technical skills of involved healthcare workers. The lack of technology competence among health-care workers can cause entry of inaccurate, incomplete, and wrong patients’ medical records. Health care facilities have the obligation to provide proper training to its users for better implementation of EHR systems leading to safer medical care provision (Admin, 2012) . With the development of EHR technology, some systems are found not to be user-friendly. This makes it quite problematic for healthcare workers to navigate and may cause frustrations leading to wrong entry of patients’ medical information that might interfere with the proper provision of a much safer medical care.
According to Admin (2012), the health-care facilities must find out their need in order to determine which EHR system suits them better. This will help avoid poor software integration because different facilities have different needs and their unique practices and service provision must be put into consideration for better health-care.
As for patients who have access to their medical records and information, the findings might turn out to be traumatizing especially if these patients are suffering from chronic diseases. This information may also have a negative effect on the family and friends of these patients and in turn, this may cause poor progress in treatment that may hinder quick recovery or better management of the condition at hand.
Solutions to EHR barriers and Challenges
Most health facilities desire to have an electronic way of keeping their records for ease in health-care recordings. This has not been smooth since the process of integrating medical records to EHR may be tiresome and difficult because of the data sources in existence like the pharmacy systems, and laboratory systems among others. In every health facility, all the stakeholders must be involved to emphasize on the adoption of EHR systems in their health-care infrastructure. With a strong focused leadership, this approach will easily be achieved. Health-care workers should be supported, prepared and walked through the EHR implementation in a health-care facility in order to deal with the resistance from staffs that have a challenge to this change. A proper and effective training and communication plans should be offered to every health-care worker by the health facility to help in building competence and extensive knowledge in EHRs functionalities and correct operations. Even after finishing the implementations of the first process, further, training should be offered as required to ensure that the staffs familiarize with how the EHR systems work.
EHR systems are quite complex and depending on the environment of the health care facility, networking in the computer systems and provider workflow determines how the systems work. In the case of an error or failure, the users find it challenging to understand or find out how it occurred. This may lead to a system breakdown that may last a long time before fixing the problem. The expenses incurred in the implementation and training is costly and therefore providers are likely to keep a flawed system instead of incurring more costs in replacing it. In such cases, every health care facility must invest in software technical assistants who will be in a position to handle breakdowns and faults in the system. Sometimes when the systems are not in a position to work in a more flexible way to support healthcare practices and the workflow, the users are likely to find other simpler ways of entering data and medical records which may interfere with the patients’ safety.
Users are advised to avoid the trend of copy and pasting in EHRs systems because it tends to contribute to the entry of wrong patients’ vital health information that has to be precise and correct in order to meet the goal of quality health care and safety of the patients.
Conclusion
EHR is a much easier, updated and quality way of keeping patients’ health care records, information, and data. Quality health care services and the safety of patients are key objectives in the implementation of EHR systems in any health care facility. Providers, patients, and other stakeholders must work hand in hand to make sure that EHRs have provided the efficient services that are expected and needed. This will not only enhance better health care services but the safety of vital patients’ health records and improve the integrity and service provision of these health care facilities. As for the flaws and errors that arise with the advancement of EHR systems, the users involved should take it upon themselves to keep up with the changing information and upgrading of the EHRs for better service provision. Patients too should adapt to these systems since their health and well-being are directly affected and therefore will also be assisting in receiving proper care from their physicians.
Reference
Admin,. (2012).Top Five Potential Drawbacks of Electronic Health Records – Pharmica Consulting : Pharmicaconsulting.com . Retrieved 14 August 2016, from http://www.pharmicaconsulting.com/2012/08/28/top-five-potential-drawbacks-of-electronic-health-records/
Bowman, S . (2013). Impact of Electronic Health Record Systems on Information Integrity : Quality and Safety Implications Perspectives. Perspectives.ahima.org. Retrieved 14 August 2016, from http://perspectives.ahima.org/impact-of-electronic-health-record-systems-on-information-integrity-quality-and-safety-implications/
HealthIT.gov. (2016).What is the difference between a Personal Health Record, an Electronic Health Record, and an Electronic Medical Record?FAQs Providers& Professional: Healthit.gov . Retrieved 12 August 2016, from https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/faqs/what-are-differences-between-electronic-medical-records-electronic
