Challenges In The Implementation Of Electronic Health Records

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Health information technology (HIT) is changing rapidly, affecting how clinicians in ambulatory care practice medicine. Electronic health records (EHRs) permit electronic documentation of current and historical health, tests, referrals, and medical treatments as well as enabling practitioners to order tests and medications electronically. EHR systems have the potential to improve communication between physicians and patients by making data more readily available. At the same time, the implementation of some new EHR systems has resulted in unexpected and deleterious consequences.

Challenges in the Implementation of Electronic Health Records

Resistance to change is always a crucial challenge for the success of any innovation. Research has found that physician resistance is a challenge in the implementation of a new EHR system when switching from a paper-based practice (Poon EG, 2004).
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The last essential challenge related to the expected impact of the EHR upon patient health outcomes, including benefits derived from improved coordination as well as challenges such as potentially decreased privacy and security. Information sharing can be a great incentive for adoption of an EHR system, but it also creates challenges for maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality (Kohn L, et al,

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