Electronic Medical Records Vs Paper-Based Records

Electronic Medical Records Vs Paper-Based Records

An electronic health record (EHR) or electronic medical record (EMR) is nothing but a medical record of a patient in digital form. The digital information is usually stored in a database and is accessible from everywhere via a network. A patient's medical information is normally recorded on paper written in a patient's record at every doctor's office the patient has visited or in the medical chart hanging at the foot of a patient's hospital bed. EMRs contain mainstream data normally found on a patient's medical records, e.g. blood type, blood tests, inoculations, and X-ray films. Recently, the integration of patient-specific genomic information has also been proposed. In this digital age, more and more bulks of information which used to be paper-based, from library catalogues to telephone books, are digitized and stored in a central location for easy access. The idea of EMRs started about 40 years ago. In this digital age, more and more bulks of information which used to be paper-based, from library catalogues to telephone books, are digitized and stored in a central location for easy access. The idea of EMRs itself started about 40 years ago. However, there is surprisingly a strong resistance against the use of EMRs. Let us take a look at what the proponents and opponents of EMR have to say. The main proponents of EMRs cite the following advantages:

(1) The use of EHRs supposedly reduces errors in medical records. There is no doubt that handwritten records are subject to lots of human errors due to misspelling, illegibility, and differing terminologies. With the use of EMRs standardization of patient health records may eventually become acheivable.

(2) Paper records can be easily lost. We have heard how fires, floods and other natural catastrophes destroy physical records of many years, data which are lost forever. Digital records can be stored virtually forever and can be kept long after the physical records are gone. EMRs also help keep records of health information that patients tend to forget with time, i.e. inoculations, previous illnesses and medications.

(3) EMRs make health care cost-efficient by consolidating all data in one place. Previously, paper-based records are located in different places and getting access to all of them takes a lot of time and money. In a systematic review, Kripalani et al. evaluated the communication transfer between primary care physicians and hospital-based physicians and found significant deficits in medical information exchange. The review recommended the use of EMRs to resolve these issues and facilitate the continuity of care before, during and after hospitalization. EMRs translates into better treatment for patients. Take the example of one asthma center's experience with EMR: "A major benefit associated with EMR implementation was the increase in the number of children who were hospitalized with an asthma exacerbation and received an asthma action plan upon discharge. Prior to the EMR system, [only] 4% received an asthma action plan upon discharge. After implementation of the EMR system, 58% received an asthma action ...