Advantages of EMR/HER
March 25, 2013
The Health Insurance Portability Act Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) resulted from Clinton administration and congressional efforts to reform health care by enabling workers of all professions to change jobs even if they (or family members) have pre-existing medical conditions, by reducing health care fraud and abuse, by reducing paperwork associated with health claims, processing, and by guaranteeing for security and privacy of health information. The “portability” aspect of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they lose or change their jobs. The “accountability” aspect projects health date integrity, availability, and confidentiality and has the greatest impact on health care organizations. (Green & Bowie, 2011) Security is the physical safeguards put into place to secure the patient’s personal information. The privacy is the patient’s right to protect the security and confidentiality of health information. And confidentiality is who can access this information and for what reason. HIPAA requires hospitals, clinics, and others in health care to protect the privacy of medical records.
Even though the terms electronic health record (EHR) and electronic medical record (EMR) are used interchangeably there is a difference. EMRs are the digital version of the paper charts in the physician’s office. An EMR contains the medical and treatment history of the patients in one practice. The information in the EMR stays in that particular office, or the physician’s associates. An EHR is a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information produced by encounters in one or more care settings. It includes patient information such as a problem list, orders, medications, vital signs, past medical history, notes, laboratory results, and radiology reports, among other things. EHRs are designed to be easily accessible by all people involved with the patient’s care. It must be...