Electronic health records are patients’ health records stored in a digital format that have comprehensive information related to a patient’s health that is collected from various healthcare providers including laboratories and specialists. Since the patient history is available online, it is accessible to any physician, specialist, or any other person, including the patient himself, who is authorized to view the data. This is very helpful to provide quality care to patients because even in emergency situations and when the patient is travelling, it is possible to access the patient history easily from the electronic health records.
An EHR system makes the healthcare system more effective and efficient with the benefits it offers. When a healthcare provider adapts to the EHR solutions, the manual patient charts are eliminated and the digital records take their place which are more accurate and are clear to understand. As the records are accessible anywhere and at any time at the fingertips, a lot of money and time is saved as there is no need for unnecessary tests to understand the situation of the patient. Also, it helps in controlling and reducing many medical errors that are caused due to lack of patient history in hand.
However, such a beneficial EHR system is deemed as a reason for burnout among the physicians. Many people even argue this could lead to some other issues in a healthcare facility like dissatisfaction among patients due to the lackluster attitude of physicians and increased medical errors. According to experts in the field, one the major reasons for such a burnout among the physicians while using an EHR system is the lack of a structure in the presentation of information collected. It is found that physicians cannot understand the information provided in the records very easily. It is argued by many physicians that technology should ease the work of physicians but not overload them with further work that takes away their valuable time and reduces their productivity.
So, what’s the solution for this situation? The EHR solution of a healthcare practice should be modified according to its needs by adopting a cognitive design. Physicians need a system that is not cluttered and provides relevant information without detracting them from their effectiveness. The system should be simple and make the relevant data easily accessible while fading the less relevant information.
With EHRs becoming mandatory for all healthcare facilities, it is imperative for them to adapt to a system that helps them perform more efficiently and effectively rather than exhausting them. Avontix provides the best EHR solutions for its ASC clients.