Evolution of EHR from EMR and How It’s So Relevant Right Now

Updated on April 7, 2020
EMR

By simple definition, EHR, or electronic health records are the digitised versions of classic patient files, but it’s also so much more in actual application today. The rapid advances made in the field of EHR have already proven themselves to be critical to modern patient care for timely and proper treatment, but in this time of the international pandemic, it is proving to be a particularly potent lifesaver. We will discuss more about that role next, alongside getting a bit into the evolution of EMR into EHR.

Advancing Beyond EMR

Electronic medical records, or EMR, were initially stored only in the clinic’s/doctor’s/hospital’s private database, and although that was still a huge improvement over pen and paper, it had two main drawbacks which were limiting the massive potentials of the digital format:

  1. The data was not accessible easily to the patient or other medical facilities and professionals not tied to that facility
  2. Not only did this make the transfer of patient history difficult and cause a delay in their treatment, but private EMR was also not getting updated in real-time

How EHR Solved Both Issues

Authorised medical personnel can access patient data easily today, tracking it back to their first day of visiting the paediatrician, if need be. More importantly, electronic health records have now become a continuously evolving, properly organised data set, which keeps getting updated with every little detail about the patient’s medical history in real-time.

Information is being exchanged in between test labs, physicians, specialists, imaging facilities, emergency responders, emergency centres, local pharmacies and even the clinics in schools and offices. This, in turn, made it possible for healthcare professionals to make informed, effective decisions regarding the best identifiable and feasible course of treatment at every step, and fast.

Whether you are looking to invest in an EHR system at your own medical practice, or you happen to be a student aspiring to join healthcare with a degree and training, it’s an investment worth making from both a business, as well as a professional perspective. Check out SimplePersonalLoans here if you need some fast cash to install the software interface at your clinic, or maybe even to get the funds you will need for completing an advanced course in EHR.

Role of EHR in Fighting the Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Consider two of the biggest advantages that modern electronic health record systems offer:

  1. Enabling instant, borderless access to patient data in real-time
  2. Providing the evidence-based data sets and tools which medical professionals use all the time to select the best course of treatment

Given the international and pandemical nature of the viral fever caused by Covid – 19, electronic health records are already playing a huge role in:

  • Helping the most brilliant minds across nations share and compare patient history, their response to different meds and everything else that is necessary
  • Providing AI with the data it needs to decipher the shortest possible route to a vaccine
  • Finding out the best possible management procedure for the patients, to aid them towards a speedy recovery

For those wondering about the negative impacts, there’s always the risk of cyber-attacks and consequent data thefts, which are not even that rare today! However, that’s pretty much how it has always been with anything and everything online. There’s always a chance that any data may get leaked or stolen, whether we are discussing personal data form Facebook or electronic health records. Nonetheless, cloud tech is far too important in both its current applications as well as its future possibilities in improving healthcare to not take that chance. 

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The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.