The importance of electronic health records (EHRs) systems in today’s healthcare landscape cannot be understated. They are essential for patient safety and improving healthcare quality.
As data volume grows exponentially, traditional methods of maintaining large files and paper-based medical records have become increasingly challenging for healthcare organizations. Because of its capability to digitize patient information exchange and other clinical and administrative workflows, EHRs play a crucial role in patient safety and improving clinical decision-making and outcomes.
Discover the advantages of using EHR in improving patient care and how it helps practices maintain comprehensive patient records.
Leverage Your EHR to Improve Clinical Decision-Making and Outcomes
EHRs impact providers’ ability to make accurate clinical assessments, including predicting patients’ susceptibility to particular diseases. Here are ways to maximize your EHR software and leverage its features to improve care quality and patient outcomes:
- Behavioral and Mental Health: EHRs can incorporate information about a patient’s behavioral and mental health, including assessments, therapy notes, and treatment plans. You can address physical and mental health needs by taking a holistic view of patient care..
- Chronic Disease Management: EHRs support managing chronic conditions by tracking disease-specific metrics such as blood glucose levels for diabetes or lung function for asthma.
- Allergies and Adverse Reactions: EHRs document a patient’s known allergies and adverse reactions to medications, foods, or other substances. It helps minimize allergic reactions or adverse events by alerting you and your patients to potential risks.
- Vital Signs Monitoring: Many EHRs interface with devices that measure and record vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. As a result, real-time monitoring of vital signs allows you to monitor patients’ conditions better and adjust treatment plans accordingly, resulting in improved patient care.
- Laboratory and Test Results: EHRs integrate with laboratory systems, allowing you to view results such as blood work, imaging reports, and pathology tests. This process enables you to understand test results, which assists in diagnosis and treatment planning.
5 Benefits of EHRs for Enhancing Patient Care
As EHR technology evolves, it’s increasingly becoming a fundamental tool that gives you a broader understanding of a patient’s health. On top of making vital patient information more accessible and comprehensive, here are five other ways EHR systems enhance patient care:
1. Better Coordination of Care
EHR systems can improve care coordination and reduce fragmented care. All providers involved in the patient’s care can easily access and integrate patient health information using EHR technology. For instance, it can alert you when a patient is hospitalized, enabling proactive follow-up.
By using EHRs, you can access accurate and up-to-date information about your patients, which is especially crucial in delivering quality patient care. This technology is particularly beneficial in situations such as:
- Consulting with several specialists;
- Getting medical care in emergency settings; and
- Moving between different care settings.
When information is readily available, you will be aware that another specialist is monitoring your specific patient’s condition. This process prevents unnecessary testing and reduces additional costs.
2. Efficient Workflows
Streamlining workflows through electronic processes leads to enhanced patient care in two ways. First, electronic processes based on specific rules enhance patient care by streamlining information flow.
Whenever you enter specific information, the system performs related tasks automatically—no need for manual intervention. It reduces the chances of errors and saves valuable time. For example, the EHR system generates a consent form whenever you order a procedure. You and your patients will benefit from this process since it accelerates documentation.
Second, the time-saving benefits of using efficient electronic methods are crucial for enhancing patient care. Studies indicate that doctors spend approximately 16 minutes per patient on charting. A simple and efficient method is, therefore, crucial. By using EHR technology that streamlines charting processes, users can avoid having to switch between multiple screens or pages and work at a more organized pace.
Read more: https://ehrintelligence.com/news/streamlining-data-workflows-through-ehr-optimization
3. Greater Level of Efficiency
EHRs enhance workflow efficiency as they enable centralized management of patient charts, unlike paper records. You can swiftly access patient information from anywhere using specific queries tailored to their conditions. This feature saves time and ensures convenient and prompt access to crucial data.
Moreover, EHRs facilitate faster and more traceable communication with other clinicians, insurance providers, pharmacies, and diagnostic centers, reducing lost messages and follow-up calls. When it comes to automated scheduling, you can seamlessly track your patients’ progress notes and insurance claims. The importance of electronic health records also lies in this integrated feature which saves time and improves patient care.
4. Makes the Decision-Making Process Easier
The integration of clinical decision-support tools in EHRs eases the cognitive burden. For example, EHRs facilitate follow-up appointments, rescheduling upcoming appointments, and sending patient reminders electronically to their pharmacies. To achieve better EHR outcomes, you must also conduct proper training in your EHR system to ensure it will seamlessly integrate with your existing workflow.
Furthermore, you can obtain a comprehensive view of a patient’s health using analytics and customizable reports within EHR systems without manually reviewing previous records. With these snapshots, you can deliver more personalized care and minimize cognitive and time demands while gaining valuable insights into a patient’s health.
5. Safer Use of Electronic Prescriptions
Medication errors cause 7,000 to 9,000 deaths every year in the United States. As a healthcare provider, safe medication use is one of your top priorities. To advance medication safety, you need to order medications electronically. With this in mind, you must integrate your EHRs with advanced e-prescribing systems.
Improving patient care is a crucial benefit of e-prescribing. It ensures that prescriptions are clear and readable (legible). EHRs that integrate e-prescribing software can provide an audit trail of all prescribing activities, including when and who prescribed medication. These prescriptions are checked against the patient’s electronic medication record to identify any potentially harmful interactions at the time of prescribing.
This software makes it easier to detect and rectify prescription errors or discrepancies.
Choose the Top EMR/EHR Software
With the help of EHRs, you can gain a deeper understanding of a patient’s health, which empowers you to make more informed clinical decisions. It’s crucial, though, for EHR systems to seamlessly integrate with your existing systems to optimize software efficiency. This integration not only brings financial and operational benefits but also enables you to deliver more comprehensive and inclusive care to your patients. Thus, you can achieve exceptional patient outcomes with EHRs as your ally.
Over the years, we have assisted medical practices with EHR/EMR selection, implementation, and software usage. We provide customized EMR/EHR software to meet your practice’s needs.
Schedule a demo or contact us through the contact form for more personalized information. Let’s work together to find the best software for your practice!
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