How Electronic Health Records Have Changed Health Care for the Better

Posted by: Jonathan J. Burke, DO
Date: August 24, 2016

We live in a world filled with constant digital connection; the health care system is no different. One of the most important aspects of our modern era of health care technology is the electronic health record (EHR). The EHR has replaced the paper file with a new, convenient electronic data software system.

Provider convenience, information quality

EHR records facilitate provider decision-making through improved analysis, clinical alerts, and built-in safeguards against potential adverse events. They also vastly improve information availability. EHRs include a patient’s complete medical history, and because all patient information is stored in one place, it is readily available to providers and hospital staff. Quick and easy access to patient’s records can improve the quality of care by reducing errors and duplication of tests.

This access is also beneficial to patients who may be away from their primary provider. Those supplying emergency care can call up patients’ medical history and other details through the electronic distribution of EHR. By having the records at their fingertips, providers can give patients informed care quickly, and therefore, optimize patient experiences and outcomes.

More comprehensive health analytics

EHRs play an important role in population health analytics and helping to improve health on a community-wide basis. Population health focuses on the health outcomes of a group and the distribution of those outcomes within the group. Health information is gathered from various clinical sources and from insurance claims, then stratified according to condition and risk by a population health management system. Populytics aggregates this information, then turns the data into actionable insights for physicians, providers, health systems, and employers.

EHRs supply researchers with information from thousands and sometimes millions of people, while at the same time, protect patient privacy. Data analytics tools contribute to our understanding of multiple patterns in patient care, such as defining at-risk groups, or success and failure rates for a particular treatment. In doing so, they play an important role in allowing health care providers to supply the right care at the right time.

Populytics can assist your company with more information about the value and use of data. For more information, please contact us.