The PC age and the Internet have made a lot of things possible – including the use of electronic medical record systems. But are there any advantages of having access to an electronic medical record as a doctor? In fact there are several advantages to being able to electronically access medical records as a doctor.
Deliver Prescriptions to Pharmacies Quickly – A lot of pharmacies and patients will have difficulties with a doctor‘s handwriting and its illegibility. But one of the benefits of an electronic medical record is that, unlike a handwritten script, there isn’t any second guessing about what the patient’s dosage is. Therefore there is less work for doctors and very little time spent trying to get in touch with the doctor and making the patient wait.
Lab Results Quickly and Easily – How many times have you had patients trying to get test results, forcing you had to take time from your busy schedule to return their call and inform them of the results? With electronic medical records, meanwhile, patients can retrieve their results with speed and ease. This is an advantage – the only disadvantage is that it’s often hard to decipher exactly what test results mean, so sometimes they will still call you.
safety in travel – If you have a patient with a health problem and they want to take a vacation, you might be worried about them traveling in case of an emergency. But if they have an electronic medical record, you know that your patients will have access to their medical information no matter where you are in the world. That helps you to know that your patients will be treated in compliance with their health problems.
Prescription Conflict Solution – No physician wants to prescribe a medication that will conflict with something a patient is already using, but let’s face it, it does occur. With a well updated electronic medical record, however, there are rarely difficulties with conflicts, and frequently, warnings are built right into the application. Problem solved!
Outside of the drug interaction problem, a well designed EMR system is extremely cost-efficient. Many insurance companies recommend using an electronic medical record system for prescriptions mainly because the overall claim processing costs are dramatically lower Also, generics can be automatically selected for the patient, ensuring they get the best meds for the best price.
When a doctor uses electronic medical records for their patient care, they discover that it’s simpler for just about everyone involved. The patients can communicate with their doctors and retrieve test results in a quick and efficient manner. It helps doctors to feel better about their patient travel, since if there is a medical problem where the person has to go to the hospital, the practitioner in the area is able to access their details and properly diagnose they should be treated.
It saves time for both doctors and their patients since the information that patients would often receive from either speaking on the phone or in person can be read on the Internet. Adopting an electronic medical record system is an amazing idea for both doctors and patients and for the healthcare industry in general.
Carl Hardy is a educator at Electronic medical Records Group and the webmaster of http://www.electronicmedicalrecords.org. Check out selection tips and read more about Medical Records Software features here.
