A visit to the doctor’s office, in about 50% of instances, means that your file is pulled, and our medical history is all noted in every visit you have had. And, if you go to another doctor, the same thing happens. Doctor #1 doesn’t know what doctor #2 has in your file, and vice versa.
In the other 50%+ of instances, there is no longer a paper file of your medical history. It is all digitized on computer systems and possibly held “in the cloud” so that it is never lost. And in some of those cases, your history of all visits to all of your doctors is housed in the same digital file. Any doctor has access to all of your medical records – visits to doctors, emergency rooms, urgent care centers, etc. – and can see the total picture of your health.
Welcome to the World of EHR – Electronic Health Records
The growth of the movement toward databases of electronic health records is non-stop. And with good reason. There are benefits to both providers and to patients, not to mention the incentives that are now in place through Medicare and Medicaid, as providers adopt nationalized EHR standards and practices.
It is probably worthwhile to take a look at the benefits that both patients and providers realize through HER.
Benefits to Providers
The use of EHR systems has already benefitted providers in terms of efficiency, patient care management, and even financial management and profits.
- Going paperless. In terms of efficiency, this is perhaps the biggest benefit. All records are stored electronically, preferably in the cloud, and accessible with a few taps of a keyboard. The reduction in paper files and storage of those files is a huge time and space saver, of course. It also reduces the need for staffing and allows the existing staff to focus more on patient care.
- Enhanced coordination. When physicians and the hospitals to which they are affiliated have an EHR system, then all patient encounters can be centralized and a complete historical picture pulled up with each encounter.
- Beyond coordinated care among affiliates, the trend toward nationalization of health care records will mean that a complete patient history, from all doctors and all hospitals, will be available any time a patient presents himself to a medical provider. The ability of a provider to access a full history means better care and much-increased quality of care. Further, every visit, change of medication, etc. is immediately updated for all to see. This is especially important when patients are seeing several specialists at the same time or some new condition has resulted in a visit to an emergency room of changes in care or medication by one doctor.
- Streamlined workflow and care. When electronic health records systems are in place, a number of other things can happen. Doctors can receive immediate notification of lab results, for example. These results may mean that a patient should be scheduled for an appointment or go to the hospital. Automated systems for notifying patients of these things can be implemented through the system. And, every time a patient visits a new doctor, the patient information/insurance forms no longer need to be filled out. All information is housed within the electronic record. The other advantage is that insurance claims can be processed within the system, cutting staff time.
- Long-Term Cost Benefit. Setting up EHR systems with the many additional elements can be a costly endeavor for providers. However, the cost savings is estimated to be about 3% per patient over the long run. These include the elimination of a variety of software products that must be integrated and updated. Everything is now within one system. And, if billing is included in the system, either to insurances or to the patient, it is likely that payments will be faster.
- Medicare and Medicaid incentives. for providers that serve patients under either of these federal programs, there are incentives to establish EHR systems. These incentives help defray the costs of setting up the system.
Benefits to Patients
While benefits to providers are pretty clear, there is more value for the patient.
- When medical records are digitized, it is easy for providers to allow patient access to their personal health history and records. EHR systems allow patients to pull up all of their medical information, download it, print it out, and have their own paper record if they wish. If a patient moves or makes a decision to change providers, he has his health records to take with him.
- Better informed patients. When patients have complete information, they are more educated about their health conditions and treatments, and their overall satisfaction rate with their care goes up. They can ask the right questions if they don’t understand something; they become more involved in their own care. They develop more trust in their providers when everything is out in the open.
- Patients can interact with their providers in between office visits; they can be more mindful of what to watch for in any condition changes and thus schedule appointments as they believe necessary. If there are portals built into the system that allows patients to email questions/concerns, they can receive responses faster rather than waiting on the phone. There can also be portals that provide more information on conditions and diseases, rather than the provider having to spend precious office time providing such educational information.
- Relationships between patient and provider are better. When the patient has access; when the patient can ask questions and get responses; when the patient knows that the provider is being totally transparent about conditions and care, the patient has a greater sense of trust and loyalty, not to mention the confidence of being directly involved in his own care and treatment.
Issues of Security and Privacy
Several issues are obvious with EHR systems and with other digitized healthcare innovations, such as monitoring devices that provide a constant stream of patient information to providers. When these are breached, personal and financial information can be laid bare and used by cybercriminals. These issues are being addressed, of course, but there will always be the need for increased vigilance and security measures. The threat is real, and those in charge of maintaining patient information/records must ensure that they have the most current and effective security systems in place.
EHR is Here to Stay
The benefits of EHR systems are simply too many for this trend to be discontinued. Providers will be able to give better care faster; they will also save costs in the long run. Patients will receive better care, and they will have full engagement in their care and treatment plans – as much as they want. Clearly, this is a win-win for both parties.
Not sure whether your patients are completely happy with the experience that they get receiving your products and services? Contact Brainberry for extra assistance.