What Is an Electronic Medical Record?
An electronic medical record is different than an electronic health record as it is designed to contain standard clinical and medical data that is collected by your health care provider. On the other hand, an electronic health record or EHR is made to include a patient history that is more broad and comprehensive.
For instance, an EHR is designed so all the providers that are involved in a patient’s care may have access to the information. Therefore, EHR data can be reviewed by health care doctors or staff in more than one health care facility.
Electronic Medical Software – How it is Used
An electronic medical record or EMR, on the other hand, is a digitized version of a medical chart that provides a patient’s history from one medical practice.Therefore, when you use electronic medical records software, the main purpose of the technology is to provide a doctor with the information needed to diagnose and treat a patient.
Therefore, electronic medical records software programs enable physicians to easily collaborate their treatment plans for their patients. Individually, electronic medical software allows a doctor to:
1. Monitor patient data over the progression of time;
2. Check a patient’s history with respect to blood pressure and vaccinations;
3. Identify those individuals who should be scheduled for preventative screenings; and
4. Enhance the overall quality of patient care.
Again, any information that is stored on an electronic medical records software program cannot be readily shared with doctors outside a physician’s practice, nor is it intended to be used that way.
So, when you are considering software for your medical practice, you need to distinguish between a platform that is used for extracting or conveying EHR or EMR data. In either case, you will be provided with a technology that will enable you to better organize and facilitate patient care.
Multi-disciplinary Utilization
Using electronic medical records software makes it possible for health care specialists to support treatment that is multi-disciplinary in nature. For example, oncologists can use the software platform to aggregate patient data on one oncology-specific chart digitally, thereby providing the internal staff with instant access to a patient’s records. Not only that, payment for specific procedures can also be integrated into the application, thereby making it easier to document those activities.
Using automation systems today is vital if you want to elevate the quality of care for your patient, regardless of the specialty. Fortunately, the facilitation and collaboration of such care is significantly enhanced with today’s medical technologies.
Take time to look at the various software on the market and see how their features will meld with the needs of your individual practice. Software can be integrated in family practices as easily it can be designed for use in such areas of oncology, pediatrics and respiratory therapy.
