Electronic Medical Records in the US - Essay Example

The legalization that allows individuals to correct their EHR information has both positive and negative arguments (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015).

On the positive side, when individuals are able to correct their health records in the database, their physicians find it easy and quick to know and acquire their health progress. This is more advantageous in case the individuals get sick and reach levels where they cannot communicate verbally. Additionally, when individuals are able to change their health records, the government will have an easy time in data collection and gathering about the nations’ health status since updated patient information will be readily available i.e. reduced delays in information retrieval (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015).

On the negative side,  McGonigle and Mastrian (2015) note that the legalization of individual access to electronic health information might lead to fraud for personal benefits. For instance, if an individual will not get a job due to their health status, they may change it electronically to get the job opportunity nevertheless. Nonetheless, the legalization inhibits the demand for health records’ security since patients can change their records to suit their needs. Moreover, if patients can correct the information on their health records, the resulting health care system data may be inaccurate and ambiguous (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015).