Electronic Medical Records And Electronic Health Records Development - Everything You Need To Know!

The prevalence of digitization in the business sphere has been quite evident over recent years. Almost every major industry has transformed its businesses digitally, but there are still a few hesitating because of the security threats involved, which is understandable. But, with the advent of blockchain technology, it is time to bid goodbye to such threats. Blockchain, with its manifold advantages, advancements, and security components, changes the faces of industries and provides them a promising, unshakable future. 

Healthcare is one major, voluminous industry for which the affiliation of blockchain into the business will be highly beneficial. The industry is far-reaching, comprising hospitals, clinical services, medications, research and development, nursing homes, home healthcare, etc. 

From the moment a patient reaches out to a doctor, there is several information to be gathered, such as the age of the patient, identity, previous or existing health conditions, medications consumed by the patient currently, etc. Also, when an illness is predicted, the doctor asks the patient to go through some tests to confirm the illness so that they could provide better solutions. Thus, the amount of data to be safely stored are in bulk, but the current centralized medical record management system isn’t a viable option because of issues like inefficiency, lack of security, interoperability, etc. This is where blockchain plays a major role in its EMR and EHR software development, providing users a highly-secure, hassle-free, efficient data management system. What is meant by EMR and EHR? Let’s find out. 

What are Electronic Medical Records(EMR) and Electronic Health Records(EHR)? 

The terms Electronic Medical Records( EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) differ from each other but are often used interchangeably. Both EMR and EHR are digital records of patients. But EMR is confined to patient’s information, medical charts, history from only a single doctor or a hospital whereas EHR is a collective digital data or records of the patient’s information, medical charts and history, test results from various doctors whoever consulted the patient over the years. 

For your better understanding, let’s further look at the major differences between the two. 

Differences between EMR and EHR

                      EMR

        (Electronic Medical Record) 

                     EHR

        (Electronic Health Record) 

Digital medical charts of a patient from one particular source

Collection of digital medical charts of a patient on the whole

Restricted to be shared outside the individual practice involved

Real-time information streamlined to multiple service providers

Patient’s records cannot be moved easily outside the concerned hospital 

Patients can access and move their records as per their preference

Used majorly for diagnosis or treatments for patients

Accessed mainly for decision-making purposes

Why blockchain-based EMR and EHR medical records? What are the key benefits?

• Decentralized network

With the integration of blockchain, hospitals don’t have to worry about softwares or databases to access patient information. The widely distributed decentralized network will allow doctors, nurses, or any other approved individuals to access the data they require efficiently, without any additional infrastructure. This also makes it impossible for any fault in the system as it is linked with multiple networks and ensures seamless functioning. 

• Real-time access

Whoever is approved of the access for the records can read, add information, locate what they want, or audit anytime they want in a secure manner. Blockchain brings in better collaboration, which helps with better patient care and more accurate diagnosis and treatment. With blockchain, patients can also get valid health recommendations via email, mobile applications, etc. The doctors can also check for the patient's heart-rate, diet, or exercise routines via the app without having to consult face-to-face.  

• Reduced costs

As blockchain enables easy accessibility and keeps the records up-to-date, there will be no necessity to take tests from the start every time, which will save a lot of money for the patients and saves time for both ends. 

• Immutability

Blockchain offers immutability, which means no third party other than the people involved can access the information, alter, or delete them, which avoids any misleading information. Also, the information is transparent all over the network for people involved to access at ease and be aware of the activities or any changes being made. 

• Enhanced security

Blockchain offers anonymity to the users, and all the information in the platform is encrypted with strong cryptography completely safeguarding the user’s interest. 

Here are some key features to be included for both EMR and EHR development

• HIPAA Compliance- You have to make sure your EMR/EHR complies with all the necessary legal frameworks according to HIPAA( Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to ensure a smooth business, avoiding any confusion in the future. 

• E-Prescription- This is one of the essential features it helps facilitate a proper digital prescription procedure and limit medical errors. 

• Integrated Medical Charts- This helps concerned medical professionals to view the information they want efficiently and provide better care for their patients. 

• Task management, data analytics and reporting - This will help users manage the tasks efficiently and timely analysis, and reports will help them prioritize and perform tasks better, and in a time-effective manner. 

• Medical bills - The users should be able to generate or view previous medical bills history through the platform.

• User-friendly interface - A user-friendly, effective and intuitive interface is very crucial for users to efficiently manage using the platform and access, navigate necessary information whenever necessary.

• Interoperability- This helps the distributed networks mingle with each other and provide smooth, seamless functioning without any glitches or cutbacks. 

Thus, both EMR and EHR will greatly  benefit the medical professionals and patients for efficient management of medical records, and improved healthcare solutions. It will also improve doctor-patient relationships, and ensure them a seamless experience. 

EMR and EHR records have definitely revolutionized the healthcare industry and the way patient’s records are recorded and processed. Experts say that, according to a national health records survey in the year 2017, the number of medical professionals who adopted EMR/EHR systems is up to 87%. Alongside blockchain, EMR/EHR is all set to be the future for the healthcare industry. If you want to embark upon this valuable and profitable opportunity for your business, conduct extensive research and choose the right company to attain reliable electronic medical record software development, or electronic health record software development services according to your requirements.