Electronic health records, in conjunction with a Health Information Exchange (HIE), improve the clinical quality and make the health care delivery system more efficient. Currently, some patients who have multiple physicians and other health care providers undergo many duplicative tests. In many instances, providers do not have an efficient way to share medical test results.
If a community has an HIE, providers will be able to access a patient’s complete health records to determine medications that have been prescribed and X-rays or other tests that may have been ordered. These systems will reduce medication errors and improve the quality of care.
In times of emergency, the treating emergency room physician would be able to use a computer terminal to access an injured patient’s health records instead of attempting to track down the patient’s primary care physician in the middle of the night.
EHR and HIE: Even More UsefulElectronic health records become even more useful when they are combined with a secure health information exchange network, which allows those records to be accessed at many locations throughout a community, a region or even a nation. Advantages of such a network include:
- Patient information can be shared in any location where assessment, diagnosis and treatment decisions occur while maintaining privacy requirements.
- Quality of documentation is improved by having every health care professional involved with a patient entering data into the same system.
- Problems with incorrect or conflicting prescription drugs can be noticed more readily and avoided.
- Clinicians can gather key information about patients more quickly, which expedites treatment – especially important in emergency situations.
- Patient records are more complete, which helps physicians and staff avoid mistakes.
- Medical information can be tracked, analyzed and charted to identify trends over time or among many patients.
- Records can be backed up and secured, avoiding loss in accidents and disasters.
- Costly tasks of creating and managing paper records are reduced or eliminated, which might hold down inflation in medical costs.
