Hospitals partner with healthcare associations and technology firms to implement the use of electronic health records.
The change is inspired by hospital management and doctors' need to have easy access to patient data. Almost all physicians' offices have gone digital, so patient records must be upgraded to increase their usefulness and quality in operations (Chicago Tribune, 2016).
Furthermore, electronic health records will remove technical bottlenecks.
On the other hand, digital medical records would be critical to improving the quality of healthcare services offered to patients and others needing medical attention. Electronic healthcare records will ensure improved consumer access since patients will be able to access their records from one health provider and share them with another provider. Such moves will not only ensure that patients’ past medical history are taken into account while recommending the appropriate intervention but also improves efficiency by reducing the time taken to get the right patients’ information. Moreover, it will bring to an end the earlier move by some healthcare organizations to block information sharing. The electronic health record is set to transform the healthcare system by sharing patients’ information through secure connections (Chicago Tribune, 2016).
For instance, a secure messaging system called “direct exchange” is used to share medical information between registered healthcare providers.
The article relates to healthcare management through various ways. First, patients’ records retrieval and storage directly affect the quality of services delivered by organizations. The healthcare organizations and technology companies have put in place security measures and standards to ensure that the efficient communication through the digital platform is not interrupted (Kohli & Tan, 2016). Also, other challenges like crushing of machines, data loss, and doctors’ burn out are also addressed. Despite the challenges, electronic medical records present numerous benefits to healthcare organizations, practitioners, and patients.
The article presents the way through which information technology can be used to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.
Reference:
Kohli, R., & Tan, S. S. L. (2016). Electronic Health Records: How Can IS Researchers Contribute to Transforming Healthcare?. MIS Quarterly, 40(3), 553-573. Tribune Wire Reports (2016, March 1st). Health groups aim to make medical records easier to access. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-electronic-medical-records-20160301-story.html
