A major gap in the medical industry that has made it hard to prevent as well as effectively treat diseases and disorders is the unsystematic process of maintaining medical records. For decades, sheets of paper have carried patients’ medical history, health details, and treatment plans, which are subject to wear and tear, misplacement, getting lost, getting destroyed, and much more. The manual method of storing and managing data in tangible physical files, folders, and boxes has slowed the pace, progress, and productivity of medical researchers and practitioners.
However, in the last 10 years, technology has not just advanced exponentially but has also become accessible and inclusive of a larger chunk of the population through scalable models, government schemes, and economic growth.
The top 5 reasons to embrace EHR systems are listed below:
1. Overall improvement in quality of healthcare:
EHR systems offer quick access to patient’s health records, medical history, test results, health counts, and more to both sides- the patient and the doctor. The data is up-to-date, accurate, and holistic, which makes treatment and healthcare more coordinated and efficient.
2. Accurate Clinical Diagnosis:
With full access and disclosure owing to the maintenance of records, the Doctors are able to make the right decisions and correct diagnoses at the right time. This saves the lives of patients and medical resources and increases the success rates of hospitals/clinics.
3. Effective treatments, better rates of recovery:
With all the data and history, doctors can prescribe medication that offers perfect solutions to the patient’s problem, target the disease, and improve the patient’s recovery rate. Overall, EHR leads to more effective treatment.
4. Automated document processing:
Everything the patient requires, from reports to prescriptions, is streamlined, securely documented, and stored in the systems electronically.
5. Increased productivity in medical research:
With larger collations of medical data, demographic disease patterns, and treatment outcomes all documented and systematically streamlined in one single digital portal, data analysis, and reporting becomes much more efficient in the larger scheme of things. There is increased scope of productivity and breakthroughs in medical research, finding cures, and studying trends which eventually enhances an entire nation’s healthcare system.
When treating diseases, the sooner the treatment starts, the better. Ambiguities in past health records, incomplete information, and confusion delay and hinder recovery.
The need of the hour is the adaptation of EHR- Electronic Medical Record Systems- cloud-based storage and tracking mechanisms of patients’ history, health type, and personal information. Because of these benefits, world governments and scientific bodies have concluded the same and are working towards implementing EHR.
