NUR 621 What were the positives, and are there any negative issues with any aspects of EHR?

 
Electronic health care records have a lot of benefits in healthcare. One of the main benefits of EHR is having security of data. By having most data in computer system that require the use of password to access, it is easy to track anyone who logs in any healthcare system and accesses patients’ private health data. EHR has made it easy for healthcare providers to share and access patients’ healthcare records in real-time without necessarily having patients carry paper documents physically whenever they go to see their providers. All what healthcare providers need to do is to access the health information online and find about their patients. EHR has helped in reducing medical error among patients. Different healthcare providers can access medical records of their patients online, that way they are able to see what type of medication they are on. By doing this they wouldn’t overprescribe or under prescribe their patients meds.

EHR has gone a long way in improving the environment, since a lot of documents are saved electronically which eliminates the use of paper documents thus saving a lot of trees in the process. EHR has also reduced the cost of doing business, since most records can be sent online without necessarily using postage or mail.  Some of the downside of EHR is that when the system goes down, patient records are no longer accessible, which may result in delay of care. There is a risk that private healthcare information may end up in the wrong hands, especially if healthcare information system is breached. It may cost a lot of money for any healthcare institution to constantly update the security of software on their system. Some healthcare providers may find it difficult to adopt using EHR which may hinder use of IT in the highest capacity (Patterson,2004).

Reference:

Patterson, K. D. (2004). Healing Health Care: Fixing a Broken System with Information Technology. Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, 14(1), 193–220.