As technology changes so does the way information is delivered. The purpose of EMR’s is to share and receive patient information in a timely manner. This allows medical staff to easily upload a patients chart and find what he/she may be looking for without having to sift through numerous pages of the standard paper-based chart. By using a computerized charting system medical staff is able to uploaded information immediately, which enhances patient care from provider to provider because data is more readily available.
Yes, technology may be changing but does that include that patient privacy is taken into account? There may be many benefits with implementing EMR's but there are risks medical providers need to take into account.
A study conducted by Arizona State University surveyed 300 California hospitals that already adopted the use of electronic medical records found that “The bottom line is that electronic medical records do appear to help lower mortality rates at hospitals, but they don’t necessarily help reduce the number of patient medical complications or reduce costs, especially in the area of nursing.” The study also found that even though mortality rates were reduced that nurses were spending additional time at their computers learning the system and charting instead of being with their patients.
Upper management needs to keep patient privacy and HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in mind. With patient charts being online this makes them more accessible, meaning, people who don't need to be in the charts can now have easy access. By implementing some form of computer monitoring this will keep track of staff that is violating HIPPA.
When implementing the use of new technology upper management should also keep in mind the cost of software, any new computers needed, and cost of training each employee. The older staff, which might not be as technologically advanced, may need to spend more training hours learning and adapting to the new system. This could mean spending more hours (and dollars) training staff that might never really understand it. On the positive side, by adapting EMR's medical facilities will be saving a ton of paper and not to mention office space that could be converted into training offices. Not only does EMR's save paper and space but they also save staffs time. Now a chart can be in more than one place at a time and staff won’t have to waste time running around trying to locate it.Standard paper-based charts have pros and cons, as well does the implementation of EMR's. The questions medical facilities need to ask are adapting EMR’s worth the time and money and can patient privacy be protected? I personally think EMR's are worth the time and money because having online charts saves time which is priceless in the medical field. I ask my readers to think about how patient privacy can be protected and how management can ensure electronic charts are not being hacked into or abused.
Sources:
Furukawa, M., Raghu, T.S., Shao, B.M. 2009. "Information Technology." Electronic
Medical Records, Nurse Staffing, and Nurse-Sensitive Patient Outcomes: Evidence from California Hospitals, 1998-2007.
