Effects of Electronic Health Records on Health Care System Effectiveness and Efficiency - Book Report/Review Example

Effects of Electronic Health Records on Health Care System Effectiveness and Efficiency Electronic health records refer to a concept evolving over time that involves a systematic collection of electronic health information concerning individual patients or populations. Abbreviated as E.H.R, this is a record in digital format that enhances the capability to be shared across different health care settings. In most enhanced cases, this sharing can occur by means of network connected information systems and in several other cases, through other independent information exchanges and networks. Electronic health records include wide ranges of data that include demographics, laboratory tests, personal stats such as age, weight and the billing information in use. It is important to go through various characteristics and factors in the issue of electronic health issues to understand appreciate it the more. The keeping and monitoring of electronic health records relates directly to several other modes of health recording. A more specific approach towards electronic health recording comes directly from Electronic medical records. It is more than necessary that for electronic health recording to fully function and fall right in place, the records in question have to be tabulated and fall electronically in place. These records get however generated and maintained within institutions that may include hospitals, further integrated delivery networks, health care providers, and insurers, giving them all access to a patient’s medical records across the concerned facilities (Harris, 2011). This is important for confidentiality in the field, which was a major notice in that section of the review. For these institutions to realize the most from this electronic health records, it is necessary for some considerations to be taken with high regard. One very essential step that should be taken is to plan for long-term preservation of these records as well as storage. This is because almost every institution that puts electronic health recording to practice, mainly aims at long-term running and most probably, further expansion of the facility itself. This is one of the main reasons as to why; electronic health recording is continuously gaining popularity throughout the institutions of the world. The gap present at this point is the lack of short-term storage of documents, which is also important. In summary to this section, bridging this gap is imperative and the survey was able to show this clearly. Tabulation and storage of heath records electronically has its advantages that also come with certain limitations to it as studied and the insight provided in that section is rather appealing. This will however be explained in detail as we proceed with this group report. One issue that comes to question when electronic health registration is up on deliberation among people, is how it actually affects the health care system at large. Is it actually effective? What value does an electric system add to the society and to the parties involved? There is much to detail referring to this issue that I will continue to highlight systematically as I proceed with this book report. Primarily, it is evident, even through ones daily life routine that electronic health registration has major benefits to the concerned industries and parties as well. An E.H.Rs major benefit to the industry involved and the society is that it facilitates a long-term preservation and storage of the uploaded data and records. It simply and in few words ensures that the subjects involved whom I would in this case refer to as clients, are assured of availability of their records in the system, even over a wide range of circulation from where the data could be accessed if need be. It is also ensured for them that this information in form of records is available even over a long period of time through which the clients may necessarily not have the utter need to refer to them. This by itself encourages the clients, giving them more courage and belief in their relative industries. The industries and institutions practicing this form of health recording on the other hand gain, through above all ,their profit margins if commercially based and through improved registration and realization in general of more clients by the day. Electronic health registration has also built on the facilitation and safekeeping of these records. Clients wary of the safety issue in the institutions consider those institutions making use of this much more developed registration systems. They are likely to adapt to institution and institutions making use of these registration systems, causing a wave of migration by clients to what we would now term to as developed institutions. With this, what results is buildup of institutions already adapted to these form of technology when it comes to health records storage and running. Consequently, the old and rather manual system of keeping and running of health records gradually fades. With the fading of these, the development of the country tends to grow, even with the smallest of margins, which still count (Harris, 2010). The tabulation and actual recording of these health records on an electronic background generally improves on the quality of services rendered to the clients involved. With the example of an electric health recording procedure adapted in a hospital, a registered client is able to transact payment for services offered or for services willing to be offered to the clients as simple as from the comfort of their mobile phones. A client could receive medical services from any point as long as their health records are accessible from a relevant station to the basic background of their electronic health records. It is to the clients’advantage that through these services, assistance is at their comfort and as need arises with much less hustle. It is however worth nothing that nothing with benefit lacks limitations to it. E.H.R too comes with certain limitations. E.H.R primarily does not guarantee the security of a client’s records. What’s more, the availability of these records over a wide area from where they are accessible only makes a worse situation if the information contained in the records was to leak in any way and to the wrong hands. Take for example, the health records of a famous figure leaking and apart from leaking, give a negative view of him. The leaking of such records would adversely influence the popular figure involved by tarnishing his view among the public. This would lead to serious result to the individual, such as job issues and poor self-esteem as from that period henceforth. A system such as these also comes with cost disadvantages. For an institution or industry to adapt to this system, huge investment has to be realized. Maintenance cost is actually high as it makes use of the latest technology that requires continuous assessment as well as maintenance cost, for it to work effectively and efficiently. Technology such as that of software systems advances at a very rapid pace. These require frequent updates that are beyond any reasonable doubt an ongoing cost realized by firms practicing E.H.R. upgrade costs as well as other associated regression testing. This could be very high especially when governed by independent sources, which tend to be more reliable in service and product provision. The cost of prolonged cost realizations by firms and institutions resolved to use the E.H.R system also extends where training of employees to use the new system is concerned. These particular training is very necessary however it is equally expensive. Taking the example of the United States, it is observed that quite a huge number of healthcare providers train at a VA facility even while proceeding with their career (Gully, 2012). Such health care providers may feel comfortable working with staff that they have trained for themselves as opposed to hiring of individuals and relying on what they may have previously learnt in relation to the health sector. Training them thus requires funds to finance payment of the teaching parties, and other miscellaneous costs incurred during the training and recruitment procedure. With this costs being added up, it results to a total hefty cost on the side of the institution. With the adapting of electronic health recording systems, a sort of dependency on third party intermediaries comes up. This is whereby; a health institution is not in full control of the system in which the records of the clients are uploaded. As discussed above, institutions willing to adapt this system invest on software’s that actually run the system rather directly. This software’s are individuals projects that incase of any issues with it, the institution may not be at a position to solve the issue independently, and as a result, are stuck to working with an individual or group of individuals, not affiliated with the institution in any way. Being the only available solution, they are forced to go by it. this may tend to raise insecurity issues and if by any chance, knowledge of such tends to reach the clients, there would be realization of issues with certain clients, and if the situation isn’t curbed, may result to clients registering with other health institutions, offering similar services, but with a different approach maybe. In certain countries, an E.H.R system is likely to be used for professional fraud. Taking the example of a third world country, facing hard economic times, majority of people there are out to make money, making use of every possible opportunity that comes its way. With such an opportunity, the superiors in a health institution find and create a chance to make them as wealthy as possible (Grice, 2008). They may tend to collaborate in fetching funds from donors in presence of having an intention to invest heavily in this latest technology, sighting fake advantages it may have on the firm and on the clients too. Donors may not take the time to research this and end up giving the finances. By the time it is realized that it was all a fraudulent operation, the health care institution is well past that and recovery of the money is nearly impossible and very little seems to be implemented, contrary to what was previously promised, that led to the donation of the funds. Unfair competition also arises from the public sector, as rules tend to be bent, all in favor of the party that seems more promising in terms of its investment capability. Initiators of such a system as E.H.R will receive immediate competition from private institutions put up around them. It may rapidly result to unfair competition where these private institutions have the ability to heavily invest in the latest technology, attracting more clients by the day. These is however not fir on the initiators side as losses start to be realized, almost immediately. With this, fraudsters may gradually rise, finding for example, an instant in which fakes put up health services online with the aim of conning unaware people, who for one reason or another tend to fall for the trick every time. This is after simple registration and easy and fast uploading of their health records in an effort to find quicker and easier medical assistance as need arises (Parkin, 2010). In view of all items discussed in this review, it is evident that electronic health records have worked both effectively and efficiently to foresee the growth and development of the health and other industries at large. Its advantages greatly out do its limitations, giving the permission to refer to it as more of making than breaking. The limitations of electronic health recording as well as the electronic health records themselves cannot be assumed. Instead, steps to curb the misuse of this system should be taken by relevant parties. Prior to that, awareness of fakes and conns should be widely announced to fight exploitation of donors and unsuspecting clients who suffer much later after being caught up in all the wrong deals and losing money in the process. Electronic health recording systems should be adapted in nearly all institutions offering health facilities because it is a huge step in development of the countries technology realization. This too may contribute in one way or another to the reduced cases of unsolved medical cases and situations due to probable manual system delays or for any other reason that would be easily avoided in the case of using and adapting to this highly effective and efficient electronic health recording system. There are very many implications for future research. One of the implications is the increase in the number of people that will have respect to the method of data storage from assured safety. Growth in technology is another implication that will come from future research in the field. This is from the fact that in the process of research, there is a very high possibility of innovation taking place. The research carried out in the field of study was vital in that it assisted in focusing on the contemporary issues of the health sector. The fact that it talked about the electronic documentation system was key in that many files have inconvenienced people by getting lost over the years. Future research should however focus on the effects part of the study. This is from the fact that they are discussed in fewer amounts while it is necessary to have them because they give people an understanding of the repercussions of using or not using the contemporary systems. Another future strategy that should be set concerning electronic health records is about controlling. Many of these records are online with ease of access through hacking to different people at different locations. It is important that future studies focus on means through which this data can be protected to avoid unforeseen damages to files. References Harris, J. (2011). Organizational Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers. Gully, S. (2012). Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success. London: Oxford University Press. Parkin, P. (2010). Managing Change in Healthcare.: Using Action Research. New York: Cengage Learning. Grice, D. (2008). Management in Healthcare. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Read More