Foundational knowledge LP 4: Paper records vs EHR

There are several benefits associated with EHR that make it more advantageous than standard paper health records. As stated earlier, these benefits are seen in the eight core functions of EHR. Foremost, EHR improve the availability of accurate, up to date health information. Patients health information is usually generated from a variety of locations and across health care providers. For instance, hospitals, pharmacy’s, emergency department etc. Historically, healthcare providers rely on faxing or mailing each other a pertinent information (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). The use of paper records makes it difficult for providers to have access to “real-time” information, especially, in a time-sensitive manner. With EHR, this information is stored in one interface, making it easily and readily accessible to any healthcare provider at any given time. Providers have access to a compressive record of their patient’s prior test, treatments, potentially health issues etc. The availability of accurate and up-to date information generally leads to better coordination among health care providers, which generally leads to improved patient care a and reduction in diagnosing errors. It also enables care to be provided more efficiently because in addition to having immediate access to health information, it also reduces redundant diagnostic testing. As stated earlier, EHR system will include all of an individual’s testing. Redundant testing is costly and may even lead to more false-positives results (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). In this scope, EHR is more advantageous than paper records for both the provider and the patient.

Yielding similar benefits is the CPOE system. The CPOE system can reduce medication errors and improve patient’s safety by 1) eliminating the use of hand-written prescriptions, this reduces the occurrence of prescription errors caused by poor penmanship, and 2) this system automatically checks for potentially dangerous drug interactions. Studies have suggested that when a CPOE system is used, medication errors can be reduced by as much as 55% and by as much as 83% when used with a CDS system (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). In addition to this, CPOE system improves efficiency in the ordering process because it allows for direct communication between a physician and a pharmacy, thereby reducing the need for staff to seek out clarification or “solicit missing information from illegible or incomplete orders” (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).