The connection between health care and electronic medical records, or EMR, is one that illustrates how new technology can help to improve medical processes. Health care in general faces many considerable challenges, and many of these involve the ways that doctors and other healthcare workers document everything from routine examinations, to diagnosis and treatment. In almost all aspects of a medical office’s operations, EMRs can help streamline the work that these professionals do, helping to protect patients better while improving the bottom line for a medical provider’s business.
Many governments around the world are looking at the comprehensive connection between the world of health care and the positive potential of EMR. In some cases, governments are promoting the adoption of this digital record-keeping technology through incentives or legislation involving health care. Meanwhile, many private businesses are moving to use electronic medical record systems on their own, in order to improve the quality of their health care.
One of the main connections between health care and EMR is the internal use of these digital documents by a single provider. Experts point out that the difference between electronic medical records and another similar type of document called electronic health records, or EHRs, is that the EMR is mainly used by a single provider, or within a single office location or medical business. This means that the EMR is generally well customized to a specific physician’s practice or doctor’s office needs, or that of a greater facility, whether that facility focuses on surgery, outpatient procedures, or any other aspect of care.
Medical offices that use modern health care and EMR systems can follow a patient’s progress through any step of their operations by quickly accessing well-designed digital documents. These can also be authenticated for security, and securely stored on servers or in database technologies. Many types of electronic medical records can provide patient history at a glance, while helping doctors to document all of their work. For example, many of these systems include a visual depiction of the body, where doctors can easily mark areas of concern, or mark areas slated for treatment.
Alternately, doctors can also mark areas that have received treatment in order to avoid confusion within the office, and lower the risk of mistakes that could lead to medical malpractice, which is a huge cost for most providers. In general, the link between health care and EMR shows how medical businesses will evolve in the twenty first century.