The advantages of using Electronic Medical Records Essay

The advantages of using Electronic Medical Records - Essay Example The advantages of using Electronic Medical Records The implementation of EMR although will require initial investments, it will prove to be beneficial in the long run. The costs for maintaining paper records will be eliminated. Moreover, the plans for implementing EMR will be provided and required changes that have to be undertaken shall be discussed. Last but not the least, a fact sheet will be developed that will include generally and frequently asked questions for the colleagues to familiarize the concept of portable EMR. Overview In this world of technologies, where organizations from all industries are implementing modern technologies to simplify the work practices, medical institutions are not far behind. The record maintenance of patient information has become an important and common phenomenon in all medical organizations and institutions. It enables institutions for providing effective advice to the patients regarding any medical emergencies. Traditionally, institutions maintained records of the patients manually through files. However, this practice is not efficient while maintaining the records for a longer period of time. The files are prone to damages or being mismanaged due to mishandling or human carelessness. Thus, the need of maintaining patient information through electronic mediums has evolved and organizations have started to implement strategies for adopting the practices. EMR is a modern concept for protecting the information of the patients which enabled institutions for having access for a longer period of time. ... In addition, it provided the flexibility of switching vendors and accessing EMRs from various places. Thus, EMRs were made portable through Core Data Sets (CDs) and flash drives that could easily be carried and remains with the patients every time and everywhere (OntarioMD Practice IT Operations, 2011). Development American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA) is a non-profit organization which deals in social welfare and well being of the people. The members of the organization have recognized the importance of maintaining the records of the patient information who have been assisted for treatments without their personal expenses. Furthermore, as the association deals with funds from various sources, information regarding the spending in treatment of patients should be maintained efficiently and for a longer period of time (American Nursing Informatics Association, 2012). The vendor associated with ANIA in providing and maintenance of the computer systems had stopped its dealings due to business failure. Therefore, the members recognized the urgency for contracting with a new systems vendor in providing efficient services. Therefore, portability of EMRs evolved as a necessary task in order to protect the patient information in case of any replacement or malfunctioning (American Nursing Informatics Association, 2012). In accordance with the HITECH Act proposed in 2009, all medical practitioners and organizations in the healthcare industry are required to implement various changes in order to maintain Electronic Health Records (EHR) or EMR of patients in the prescribed format. Although many organizations or practitioners objected due to the time and costs involved in the transitional phase, 48.3%