As technology is becoming the backbone of various industries, the healthcare sector is reaping the benefits of technological improvements in the country. One such benefit includes digitalizing the health records of patients. Gone are the days when you need to carry piles of records for your regular checkups. Electronic health records are replacing paper records tremendously.
What is EHR?
An electronic health record is a digital collection of a patient’s health record. These records are easily accessible and provide real-time information about the patient’s medical documents. EHR is the entire collection of a patient’s medical record stored systematically in an electronic form. Additionally, EHR is an official document of the patient’s health that can be shared with various stakeholders like doctors, insurance agencies, etc. This detailed chart of a patient’s health, compiled and kept digitally, is taking over the traditional way of storing medical files.
Benefits of EHR
Replacing your paper records with EHR has several benefits for your health and various other stakeholders involved. Here are certain benefits of the EHR system that you must be aware of.
- One place to find all your documents- If you are someone who finds it difficult to maintain a file of your health records, then EHR is at your rescue. Often you might have noticed that it is difficult to maintain track of all medical records as you go for a checkup from one doctor to another. Apart from maintenance, keeping paper records requires effort, time, and cost, which is not worth the advantages it provides. On the other hand, EHR benefits are worth replacing paper records with EHR. Having EHR, there is no need to waste your time finding all your essential files as you can access them at the convenience of a click.
Additionally, you can update this information timely without undergoing daunting processes. EHR will enable you to be efficient and organised with your medical documents. With EHR you can easily access your medical documents and share your medical information with doctors in real time. - Protection against disaster- Yet another benefit of EHR is protection against disaster. People faced a lot of issues during the pandemic as they weren’t prepared with medical stuff like documents, insurance, etc. Such disasters happened in the first place due to being unorganised with your healthcare. Disasters like covid pandemic can be fought well if the public is prepared pre-hand with everything related to their health. EHR can instantly make the healthcare provider understand your situation better by studying your medical journey and providing you with timely, effective treatments and reliable prescriptions. Operating in such a way helps to avoid medical disasters that lead to complications and death at times.
EHR benefits are ideal for keeping your medical records organised, which eventually helps the experts better understand your condition and prevent disasters. Added to that, EHR can be shared instantly, which helps the doctor reduce the time taken to study a case, while paper documents often get lost and create delays and disasters. - Access only to authorised users- With EHR there is no need to worry about the security of your medical information. EHR comes with a feature that enables you to share your medical data only with your concerned authorities. No one can misuse your medical information as it is secured on the digital platform and can be accessed only when the user permits it to do so. One of the important benefits of electronic health records is that you can securely share your medical information without wasting time finding and compiling them.
There are higher chances that anybody can access your paper records, while EHR can be accessed only when the owner grants access. EHR companies provide a high-security system so that you can access your medical data easily without putting them at risk of getting misused. Make sure you digitise your medical information with a reliable and trustable service provider to minimize the risk of mishappenings. - Improved patient care- As EHR provides quick access to patients' medical data, the quality of patient care improves. EHR saves a lot of time, which the healthcare provider can use to recommend various treatment options available. Added to that, by having EHR, the patient is well aware of the treatments and prescriptions being provided. It increases the trust between the healthcare provider and patient and improves communication, eventually enhancing patient care.
It is one of the most vital benefits of the EHR system that helps the overall quality of healthcare being provided in a particular country. With improved patient care, preventive care improves as well. Operating in this way helps to produce effective results rather than simply depending on age-old methods. - Paper records subject to tampering- Paper records can easily be manipulated, and it is difficult to detect such alterations. Someone with wrong motives can easily remove papers from your medical records or tamper with the information, leading to medical disasters. However, such mishappenings can be prevented by digitising your medical records as EHR are encrypted and protected by passwords and other safety measures so that no one can alter your information without your permission.
If you want to maintain clean and clear records, then EHR is ideal for you. Unless you grant permission, nobody will be able to make changes to your medical chart, which can save you from getting deceived and causing harm to your health.
Conclusion
It is essential to upgrade how healthcare is provided in our country so that we grow together as a country. Keeping up with new operating systems in the health sector, like EHR will help you to deal with your health issues efficiently. If you still stick to the old methods, like maintaining paper records, you might miss out on the benefits available, which can positively impact your treatments. Not only medically, but having EHR can also provide financial assistance and numerous other benefits. Digitising your medical documents is quite easy and only requires certain essential documents.
