Healthcare organizations including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and physicians’ offices used to keep patients’ health or medical files in the form of paper records. The emergence of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) came as a result of so many factors such as the technological progress, the legal requirements and the accountable healthcare organizations. Introducing the concept of EHR to healthcare organizations and professionals was intensified in 2009 with the passage of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) which included an incentive plan to encourage healthcare professionals to switch from paper to electronic health records. (Tripathi, 2012). As any new concept,
Comparison Between Paper and …show more content…
The lack of organization that’s usually related to paper-based records will lead to the unnecessary repeat of examination, testing, and treatment which and the inefficient recovery of health information by physicians and other professionals who will have to collect patient’s health records, notes and charts from different offices rather than one electronic file. On the other hand, having a complete electronic health record in digital format that includes all the health information needed and which is easily and quickly accessible by healthcare providers at any time and at different locations reflects better organization of data and more efficient accessibility. (Pennic, 2012).
Paper-based records are hard and time wasting to share between different providers and facilities while electronic health records provide a quick and efficient way to share data and consequently better manage patient’s health statuses specially in emergencies. This also applies on the accessibility of files which has many limitations in case of traditional paper records, such as the location and offices’ hours limitation which are not an issue with electronic health records that are accessible by healthcare providers 24/7. (Pennic, …show more content…
The vision of health record keeping includes “Widespread and meaningful use of fully functional electronic health record systems combined with a robust infrastructure for broad-based health information exchange can improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care for all Americans”. (Blumenthal, 2010, Para. 1). Transforming this vision into reality started by the adoption and implementation of EHRs by many healthcare organizations, however, there are still many challenges and obstacles that prohibit the full implementation of EHRs starting from the resistance many healthcare providers have to such a fundamental change, the high cost, the difficulty of adopting and using new health information software, and the major concern of electronic health records privacy and security. (Blumenthal,
Comparison Between Paper and …show more content…
The lack of organization that’s usually related to paper-based records will lead to the unnecessary repeat of examination, testing, and treatment which and the inefficient recovery of health information by physicians and other professionals who will have to collect patient’s health records, notes and charts from different offices rather than one electronic file. On the other hand, having a complete electronic health record in digital format that includes all the health information needed and which is easily and quickly accessible by healthcare providers at any time and at different locations reflects better organization of data and more efficient accessibility. (Pennic, 2012).
Paper-based records are hard and time wasting to share between different providers and facilities while electronic health records provide a quick and efficient way to share data and consequently better manage patient’s health statuses specially in emergencies. This also applies on the accessibility of files which has many limitations in case of traditional paper records, such as the location and offices’ hours limitation which are not an issue with electronic health records that are accessible by healthcare providers 24/7. (Pennic, …show more content…
The vision of health record keeping includes “Widespread and meaningful use of fully functional electronic health record systems combined with a robust infrastructure for broad-based health information exchange can improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care for all Americans”. (Blumenthal, 2010, Para. 1). Transforming this vision into reality started by the adoption and implementation of EHRs by many healthcare organizations, however, there are still many challenges and obstacles that prohibit the full implementation of EHRs starting from the resistance many healthcare providers have to such a fundamental change, the high cost, the difficulty of adopting and using new health information software, and the major concern of electronic health records privacy and security. (Blumenthal,