Introduction
The recent decades have seen healthcare systems progressively migrate from conventional paper-based systems to innovative automated systems. The gradual change is more imminent in developed countries as the developing nations still lag behind. Be that as it may, compared to other sectors such as transport and business, there is still room for improvement in the extensive use of computerized systems in healthcare. The existing Electronic Health Records (EHR), are significantly applied in administrative functions and less in core clinical services. Along these lines, Deltev and Berner (2007) characterize EHR as a type of modernized medicinal record actualized to encourage social insurance conveyance. EHRs are a segment of an independent healthcare data framework that permits the storage, recovery, and modification of records in the health sector. Echoing Greenhalgh et al. (2009), EHRs are focal towards the great usage of electronic healthcare data frameworks and cutting edge advancements in health services, such as but not limited to decision support frameworks. Consequently, it becomes imperative to explore the pros and cons of EHRs. An analysis of these advantages and disadvantages is significant in the decision-making process especially during an era when most if not all healthcare institutions are seeking to purchase and implement EHRs.
How Does Electronic Health Records Improve Patient Care?
First, EHRs provide an efficient record administration framework because they ensure compelling coordination of patient care by clinicians and healthcare personnel. Accessibility of electronic records is less demanding and quicker than customary paper records. As a result, EHRs aid in accelerating physicians’ coordinated efforts, which enhances the nature of healthcare services offered to patients. Second, EHRs help in diminishing human mistakes. Poor legibility connected with traditional paper-based records contributed altogether to medicinal errors. Be that as it may, the utilization of electronic records encourages readability on account of institutionalization of structures and information input, which thus help in decreasing the pervasiveness of restorative mistakes and enhancing the dependability of medical records.
Disadvantages of Electronic Health Records
On the other hand, EHRs are associated with high costs. Most EHRs are immensely expensive to acquire and implement which poses a barrier to their utilization. Furthermore, EHRs pose a privacy risk on the stored healthcare records. The heightened amounts of availability and versatility of EHRs likewise tend to build the potential for unapproved access or information theft.
Conclusion
In synopsis, the backdrop above depicts the fundamental pros and cons of EHRs. Succinctly, the pros outweigh the cons with the flagship being the effective coordination of record management systems by the comprehensive healthcare personnel.
References
Deltev, S. B. (2007). The executives guide to electronic health records. New York: Health Administration Press.
Greenhalgh, T., Wongs, G., Potts, H., Bark, P., & Swinglehurst, D. (2009). Tensions and paradoxes in electronic patient record research: A systematic literature review using the meta-narrative method. Milbank Quarterly, 87(4), 729-788.
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