Electronic Medical Records and Safety
Rossana Zamora
HCA / 210
May 03, 2013
Tamara West
Electronic Medical Records and Safety
The President of the United States of America, Barak Obama, made a proposal that all medical records shall become electronic medical records by 2014. The process of transferring all medical records to electronic medical records (EMR) does require a tremendous amount of time as well as resources to make sure the process is done correctly. There are many benefits to the switch over from paper files to electronic data. Some examples are the security of knowing your information doesn’t get in the wrong hands, patient safety, efficiency, as well as going green (saving our planet). The negative side includes if there is a power outage or hackers that can access files even through high security. Other things to think about would be if a physician gives his password to an associate (Leibel, Currie, & Gelowitz, Aldridege, Kuncewicz, 2012).
The United States of America is not the only country making the transfer to electronic medical records. Having EMR in other countries makes it easier for those who go abroad and seek medical services while they are away from home. Knowing that your medical information is already in a computer which tell any doctor you visit which medications you are currently on or your history of allergic reactions can help save one’s life. The programs can alert the doctors if certain medications combined can causes a bad reaction. Having the ability to review one’s lab tests instead of having to wait is also comforting to the patient.
With EMR the time wait for patient’s medical records is cut significantly because of having the information at the touch of a button. Many things are changing in the world today concerning technology. The authors who wrote the article I read stated good points. They give many...