Walden University: Electronic Medical Records & Improving Care

This discussion focuses on understanding how patient care can be improved through the use of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. It highlights the development and praise for EMR systems due to their ability to collect and maintain patient records in an electronic format, encompassing historical data for easy retrieval and use in healthcare. The system enhances patient care effectiveness through appropriate documentation, improved communication between practitioners and families, and facilitates better decision-making. While EMR systems offer numerous benefits, including improved planning and real-time information capture, limitations such as installation costs and the risk of cybercrime are also considered. The discussion references research supporting the positive impacts of EMR systems on patient outcomes and medical decision-making.

Running head: DISCUSSION 1
Discussion
Student’s Name
University

DISCUSSION 2
Discussion
The statement of the problem was to understand how patient care can be improved
through electronic medical record system. The development of the Electronic Medical Records
System in healthcare was to improve medical care through a centered approach that allows easy
collecting and maintaining of patient records in an electronic format (Kvedar, Coye & Everett,
2014). This leads to the ability to store patient details by encompassing historical data making it
easy for retrieving and use in healthcare. Jensen et al. (2013) suggests that the reason why the
system has been praised is its ability to capture different dimensions of patient data including
historical patterns like allergies thus making it easy for the practitioner to make diagnosis of the
best care process that satisfies the needs of the patient. The system enhances effectiveness of
patient care through appropriate documentation and enhanced correspondence between different
practitioner units and also family since information access and sharing is increased.
The Electronic Medical Record System is an extension of the EHR system to provide a
more patient centered approach that has led to increased patient care through improved reasoning
and decision outcomes that focus on the needs of the patient. The information collected by such
systems can be used in medical decision making, research and significant practice level figures
that determine the future of the profession (Denny et. al., 2013). Planning is improved since
practitioners have all patient information that is captured in real time rather than using the
manual form which can be prone to errors. However, this method offers limitations related to the
cost of installing such systems since it takes time to develop the competencies required. Further,
most facilities lack a manual back up of information which makes it risky when the institution is
exposed to cybercrime related issues.

DISCUSSION 3
References
Denny, J. C., Bastarache, L., Ritchie, M. D., Carroll, R. J., Zink, R., Mosley, J. D., & Basford,
M. A. (2013). Systematic comparison of phenome-wide association study of electronic
medical record data and genome-wide association study data. Nature
biotechnology, 31(12), 1102.
Jensen, R. E., Snyder, C. F., Abernethy, A. P., Basch, E., Potosky, A. L., Roberts, A. C., ... &
Reeve, B. B. (2013). Review of electronic patient-reported outcomes systems used in
cancer clinical care. Journal of oncology practice, 10(4), e215-e222.
Kvedar, J., Coye, M. J., & Everett, W. (2014). Connected health: a review of technologies and
strategies to improve patient care with telemedicine and telehealth. Health Affairs, 33(2),
194-199.