Why Bother With

Aug 16
07:24

2010

David Bruce

David Bruce

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Scanning mounds and mounds of paper medical files to electronic computer files is incredibly time-consuming; however, this task is key to reducing exploding medical costs. Efficiency and portability for medical staff is the most obvious, and this ease of access enhances communication and therefore safety for patients. Consider crucial information such as blood type, prescriptions and their interactions, allergies, and medical conditions. The easier it is to share this potentially life or death information, the better off a patient will be, particularly in an emergency.

mediaimage

Scanning mounds and mounds of paper medical files to electronic computer files is incredibly time-consuming; however,Why Bother With  Articles this task is key to reducing exploding medical costs.

Efficiency and portability for medical staff is the most obvious, and this ease of access enhances communication and therefore safety for patients. Consider crucial information such as blood type, prescriptions and their interactions, allergies, and medical conditions. The easier it is to share this potentially life or death information, the better off a patient will be, particularly in an emergency.

Currently, the federal government recognizes the importance of and is actively supporting the switch to electronic records for all of these reasons: money, efficiency, and safety. An electronic medical record system is already in place for Veterans' hospitals across the nation (VistA).

Security is another issue. And while electronic records may have one disadvantage in terms of privacy risks, this is overwhelmingly overshadowed by the security of having multiple copies of the same records stored in electronic form for backup. Not only can natural disasters destroy paper records, but tragic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina leave thousands of injured people desperate for emergency medical care. These patients are much more likely to get the care they need if records are easily available and transferable in electronic form.

And there are more advantages to consider in terms of safety. In the past, every time you changed doctors or visited a new office, you had to fill out lengthy forms about your history, medications, surgeries, etc. This is not only time-consuming and annoying, but potentially dangerous. This leaves you in the position of deciding which information to include and which can safely be omitted, a decision best left to a doctor or nurse. What you may consider irrelevant, such as an herbal supplement you take on occasion, may end up being a critical piece of your medical puzzle in an emergency.

But your medical puzzle is always complete if that new doctor can access your entire history in electronic form right from her laptop. And just as important, if that doctor closes her practice, moves, retires, or dies, electronic records make it possible for you and all of this critical information to travel easily to a new doctor. Electronic records also allow patients access to their own information, which can be critical in certain situations.

And of course it all boils down to money. Even taking the cost of the electronic system into account, this advance cuts costs in significant ways. Consider the money for labor, space, and the paper and file folders themselves. More importantly, time is money. The dramatic increase in efficiency from using electronic medical records translates into dramatic savings. A few keystrokes versus sifting through rows of files, fumbling for the needed information, and refiling the folder will easily save a single doctor thousands of dollars over time. And this savings for doctors and their practices ultimately leads to savings for the patients themselves.

by Joyce Kelly

Also From This Author

Using Moisture Control to Fight Mold in Your Home

Using Moisture Control to Fight Mold in Your Home

You've probably heard some horror stories about lawsuits from mold damage and the toxic effects of mold on human health. But you may not realize that any home or business can be vulnerable to the threat of mold if proper precautions aren't taken to control moisture levels. Improper ventilation for humid air will always result in mold growth, so it's critical to learn effective methods for preventing this common yet destructive problem. Maintaining proper humidity levels, reducing air moisture, and increasing air circulation are all ways to keep nasty mold spores from taking root on your property.
A Brief History Of SEO Copywriting

A Brief History Of SEO Copywriting

SEO naturally came about with the birth of the internet, but its early days were less than impressive. Budding internet marketers pounced on newly discovered methods for search engine ranking manipulation and churned out garbage articles loaded with meaningless content and outlandish strings of invisible keywords. Luckily, search engine algorithm designers picked up on these tricks and refined their programs to ignore this nonsense, also known as "keyword stuffing", and SEO copywriting was born out of necessity. By using a combination of quality content sprinkled with ranking keywords, this method gave SEO writing more credibility.
Social Media Optimization For SEO

Social Media Optimization For SEO

If you, as a social media consultant, want to use your social media skills to "get your small business client" represented on social media, that's great. Every business would benefit from having a web presence, having a web presence is much better than not having one.