Information technology is being increasingly used in healthcare, which is causing the industry to undergo a significant transition. The customization of healthcare has increased, and there is a chance for innovative strategies to support programs for scientific performance improvement and enhanced patient-driven treatment. The digital transformation that is reshaping the healthcare industry is made possible in large part by a variety of digital health technologies, including electronic medical records (EMRs). These provide many advantages to doctors, clients, scientists, and other vital stakeholders. Therefore, Electronic Medical Records are among the most important types of information systems in healthcare since they offer full support of healthcare operations, arrange and store data and are used by various medical professionals.
The digital transformation that is revolutionizing the health industry is primarily made possible by EMRs. The definition of an EMR is a “computer-stored collection of health information on a person, linked by a person identifier,” with a clinic functioning as the application domain and all patient care falling within the purview of the healthcare professional (Uslu & Stausberg, 2021, p.2). They have numerous functions, however, they may be essentially categorized as digital presentation systems for wellness, therapeutic, or hospital information. In addition to including an individual’s medical history, the EMRs involve diagnostics, prescriptions, treatment options, periods of immunizations, sensitivities, radiological pictures, and laboratory tests, making them a crucial component of health IT (Janssen et al., 2021). Another function is enabling clinicians access to evidence-based instruments for making decisions regarding a patient’s care (Janssen et al., 2021). In this sense, EHRs are used by doctors since every medical professional is engaged in a patient’s care due to the duty to communicate information with other departments and facilities, including laboratories, experts, diagnostic imaging departments, pharmacists, and emergency rooms. Moreover, nurses use EMRs as well, which helps them organize and manage patient data.
Moreover, the way EMRs make care better quality is by increasing the system efficiency and simplifying patient care reporting. The broad application of the EMR is essential to raising the standard of healthcare, which is supported by most healthcare organizations and unions. According to the World Health Organization, the level of care quality refers to how well patients and patient groups may be served by medical services in order to achieve targeted clinical outcomes (Ibrahim et al., 2022). Furthermore, a key element in providing services inside a hospital context is medical quality, without which the system will be disrupted. Implementing an EMR to be incorporated into primary care programs utilizing the most recent information and communication technologies platform is unavoidable and regarded as important in the age of technological growth (Ibrahim et al., 2022). Analyzing client satisfaction levels after EMR installation is crucial for gauging the caliber of patient treatment and health outcomes. This is vital since measuring patient satisfaction will enable an accurate assessment of the design, implementation, and results of healthcare services from the patient’s point of view. Therefore, EMRs are a necessary tool in every medical setting.
Lastly, the specific reason why EMRs are considered the systems that improve the quality of care is that they lower the medical mistake rates and store all the necessary information in one device, which lowers the chances of lost or mixed data. To delve deeper, EMR is anticipated to enhance information accessibility for care coordination, facilitate medical decisions, and increase data reliability from the standpoint of care delivery. From a functional standpoint, EMR should produce vital health statistics necessary for the organization and management of medical services. Users have certain anticipations from a decent EMR, including accurate patient record keeping, standard frameworks and standard operating procedures, disease coding and invoicing, regulatory requirements, preventing medication errors, utilizing clinical pathways, optimizing workflow, and appropriate learning capabilities (Honavar, 2020). Additionally, time efficiency, ease of use, a user-friendly interface, different input connectors, the inclusion of clinical pictures, seamless interaction with clinical study systems, and minimalism were emphasized (Honavar, 2020). In order to facilitate lateral and vertical compatibility and mobility across the referral network, the optimal EMR must be on a unified platform around the whole country.
In sum, due to the fact that they provide complete support for healthcare operations, organize and preserve data, and are utilized by a variety of medical specialists, electronic medical records are among the most significant types of information systems in the healthcare industry. Despite the fact that they serve a variety of purposes, they may be broadly defined as digital display systems for health, therapy, or hospital information. The EMRs are an essential part of health IT since they contain diagnoses, prescriptions, treatment alternatives, vaccination schedules, sensitivities, radiographic images, and laboratory tests in addition to a person’s medical history. EHRs are utilized by all doctors in this sense since every medical specialist is involved in a patient’s treatment. EMRs improve treatment quality by reducing medical mistake rates and streamlining patient care reporting. As a result, expanding the use of the EMR is crucial to improving healthcare quality.
References
Honavar S. G. (2020). Electronic medical records – The good, the bad and the ugly. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 68(3), 417–418. Web.
Ibrahim, A. A., Zamzuri, M. A. I. A., Ismail, R., Ariffin, A. H., Ismail, A., Hasani, M. H. M., & Manaf, M. R. A. (2022). The role of electronic medical records in improving health care quality: A quasi-experimental study. Medicine, 101(30). Web.
Janssen, A., Donnelly, C., Elder, E., Pathmanathan, N., & Shaw, T. (2021). Electronic medical record implementation in tertiary care: factors influencing adoption of an electronic medical record in a cancer centre. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 1-9. Web.
Uslu, A., & Stausberg, J. (2021). Value of the electronic medical record for hospital care: update from the literature. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12), 1-16. Web.