Scanning mounds and mounds of paper medical files to electronic computer files is incredibly time-consuming; however, this task is key to reducing exploding medical costs. Efficiency and portability for medical staff is the most obvious, and this ease of access enhances communication and therefore safety for patients. Consider crucial information such as blood type, prescriptions and their interactions, allergies, and medical conditions. The easier it is to share this potentially life or death information, the better off a patient will be, particularly in an emergency.
Scanning mounds and mounds of paper medical files to electronic computer files is incredibly time-consuming; however, this task is key to reducing exploding medical costs.
Efficiency and portability for medical staff is the most obvious, and this ease of access enhances communication and therefore safety for patients. Consider crucial information such as blood type, prescriptions and their interactions, allergies, and medical conditions. The easier it is to share this potentially life or death information, the better off a patient will be, particularly in an emergency.
Currently, the federal government recognizes the importance of and is actively supporting the switch to electronic records for all of these reasons: money, efficiency, and safety. An electronic medical record system is already in place for Veterans' hospitals across the nation (VistA).
Security is another issue. And while electronic records may have one disadvantage in terms of privacy risks, this is overwhelmingly overshadowed by the security of having multiple copies of the same records stored in electronic form for backup. Not only can natural disasters destroy paper records, but tragic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina leave thousands of injured people desperate for emergency medical care. These patients are much more likely to get the care they need if records are easily available and transferable in electronic form.
And there are more advantages to consider in terms of safety. In the past, every time you changed doctors or visited a new office, you had to fill out lengthy forms about your history, medications, surgeries, etc. This is not only time-consuming and annoying, but potentially dangerous. This leaves you in the position of deciding which information to include and which can safely be omitted, a decision best left to a doctor or nurse. What you may consider irrelevant, such as an herbal supplement you take on occasion, may end up being a critical piece of your medical puzzle in an emergency.
But your medical puzzle is always complete if that new doctor can access your entire history in electronic form right from her laptop. And just as important, if that doctor closes her practice, moves, retires, or dies, electronic records make it possible for you and all of this critical information to travel easily to a new doctor. Electronic records also allow patients access to their own information, which can be critical in certain situations.
And of course it all boils down to money. Even taking the cost of the electronic system into account, this advance cuts costs in significant ways. Consider the money for labor, space, and the paper and file folders themselves. More importantly, time is money. The dramatic increase in efficiency from using electronic medical records translates into dramatic savings. A few keystrokes versus sifting through rows of files, fumbling for the needed information, and refiling the folder will easily save a single doctor thousands of dollars over time. And this savings for doctors and their practices ultimately leads to savings for the patients themselves.
by Joyce Kelly
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