The healthcare industry has undergone massive evolution over the years that has led to the transformation of various service delivery perspectives. The advent of information technology is one of the factors that has motivated the rapid progressions that have been experienced in health care. The evolution of the needs and expectations of the service consumers is one of the biggest factors that has also inspired the raid adoption of the technological platforms in order to give the required services to the people in the society. Electronic Health Records (EHR) is a typical representation of the technological advancements in the society today.
Information and data are very sensitive entities in the health care industry. The data and information are used in the establishment of the records kept in the health care facilities to assist the experts ton have a history of the patients (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015). The records can also be manipulated in order to be used for various purposes like in the establishment of trends that is important in the medical research. Therefore, health records are an important part of the delivery of high-quality services because they form the basis on which special interventions are undertaken to improve the level of service delivery to the consumers (Keizer, 2014).
Traditionally, the health records were managed and manipulated by the use of manual recording systems. Under this system, the data and information collected from the patients and experts was stored in manual books and other manual entities (HealthIT.gov, 2014). The manual electronic health records were presented various challenges to the health experts and the consumers because they were prone to various errors. The structural operation of the manual systems also reduced the quality of the storage and manipulation of the health records because of the low level of safety for the experts and the consumers. This led to the introduction of the Electronic Health Records in order to improve the quality of the services delivered.
Electronic health Records (EHR) systems are referred to as the automated recording and manipulation of information that is associated with the medication process. This entails the automated creation, gathering, management and manipulation of the information by the authorized staff members and clinicians within the health care entities. These EHR systems make use of computer technologies in handling the data and information in order to enhance the flow of the work systems. Therefore, these automated systems are also important in the increase of the speed of the essential operations because of the ease of retrieval of information from the electronic databases.
The adoption of the EHR technology in the health care facilities is one of practical approaches that has led to the general transformation of the health care industry. This is because the electronic records can be linked to other other automated processes within the health care organization through the appropriate computer applications and information systems to enhance the level of service delivery. Some of the systems that have been enhanced include the management systems and the decision-making systems that can assist the physicians and other staff members in making essential decisions that are related to the advanced clinical practice (HealthIT.gov, 2014).
The high rate of globalization has also led to the start of complex information systems in the world. This has also led to the introduction of sophisticated EHR systems that have a wide range of capabilities. The current electronic recording systems have capabilities that enhance efficient communication and they promote computerized administration of the health entities. Some of the capabilities that are provided by the systems include the scheduling of the systems and they also promote high levels of integrity to patient information through the enhanced privacy and confidentiality (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015).
Nurses are important members of the health care community. Tis because they are actively involved in the administration of healthcare services and in the delivery of the services in advanced clinical practice. Therefore, the adoption and implementation of the Electronic Health Recording systems has a direct impact on the operation of the nurses and other health care experts (Keizer, 2014). The use of the electronic health records make the works of the nurses easy because they are able to have efficient and accurate information about their patients. The nurses are also able to update the records with a lot of ease and accuracy. The automated systems also assist the nurses to share data and information instantly with other health care experts through enhanced communication capabilities promoted by the electronic health recording systems. Therefore, the capabilities of the health recording systems and the high collaborative engagements assist in the improvement of the quality of the services offered to both the experts and the service consumers (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015). The disease management tools that are part of the electronic systems also assist the nurses in monitoring the progress of the patients that may be remotely located because the patients can also access their records and update them at their convenience.
Therefore, the use of electronic medical records is one of the most elemental advancements in the healthcare industry. The technology can improve over the years in order to accommodate the advancements experienced in the industry and to satisfy the needs and expectations of the patients and health care experts. Therefore, embracing technology in health care is an important undertaking and it is one of the realistic and practical approaches that has been adopted towards promoting the integrity to human life through high levels of safety.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (2015). Health Information Technology. US Department of Health & Human Services. Available at http://healthit.ahrq.gov/key-topics/electronic-medical-record-systems
- HealthIT.gov, (2014). Electronic Health Records. US National Learning Consortium. Available at http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/faqs/what-electronic-health-record-ehr
- Keizer, F. (2014). Formalization and computation of quality measures based on electronic medical records. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 21, 285-291
