The Future Of EMR

Updated on July 13, 2020
EMR

The days of having to have staff run down to a basement to sift through drawers of files to find a patient’s medical records are long gone now, and that’s a good thing – thanks to EMR and the software that comes along with it, medical records are now found at the touch of a button, saving time and effort, and reducing the chances of there being a mistake or that the record could be lost. 

As with any kind of technology, there are always going to be changes and updates, and as more and more time goes on, there will be many different ways to use EMR technology too. So just what is the future of EMR predicted to look like? Here are some ideas. 

Accessibility 

When it comes to medical records, one of the most significant issues for practices that might be considering using EMR rather than any older ways to keep this critical information to hand is accessibility. EMRs cost a lot of money, potentially in the six-figure sums or even more, and this is just not viable for smaller clinics. It essentially means that EMRs right now are not accessible to many of those who would benefit from using this form of electronic storage

In the future, this may well be set to change. Developers will need to look at ways to make the systems much more affordable, at which point the take up will be much higher, and the price can go down even more. As well as this, there will be more training available to enable everyone who needs to be able to use the system to do so correctly and efficiently. 

Integration 

Something else that can often be seen as a problem with EMRs is that they don’t always work well together – there are integration issues between different systems. This means that, if someone is admitted to hospital which uses one system and their usual medical center uses another, the information may not be easily ported across, wasting time and not allowing the hospital to get a full picture of what is happening. 

In the future, this wouldn’t be an issue anymore. Different systems would have to work together to be able to integrate information from a variety of different sources – including a photo to ensure the right patient is being treated – to ensure that anyone who needed the information could get it and use it to treat a patient. Whether this information included knowing the patient was using a specific type of CBD oil from Bloom & Oil CBD or something more serious, the information would all be there. 

Ease of Use 

Not everyone is tech-savvy, and even those who use computer systems all the time may have trouble with some aspects of EMR – it is known to be complicated. This means that although the information is useful and being able to store everything electronically is efficient and secure, if those who need to use the systems find it hard to do, they will revert back to their old habits sooner rather than later. 

When this happens, not only will the system have been a waste of money, but it can become even more fractured, with some information in one place and more in another and no one knowing where to look for anything. This can affect patient care dramatically and should be avoided. 

In the future, EMRs will be more user friendly, more intuitive, and more familiar, persuading everyone who needs to use it to do so in the right way. 

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.