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Electronic health records are computer files that contain a patient’s medical history and current health information. The US government is encouraging the transition from physical files to electronic records for efficiency and cost savings. However, there are concerns about unauthorized access and the need for a uniform standard.
An electronic health record is a file kept on a computer that maintains vital information about a patient’s current health and history. In the past, patient records have largely been kept as hard copies in physical files, often visible in the reception area of doctors’ offices. In the United States, many offices, clinics and hospitals are converting to an electronic health record system in anticipation of possible mandates from the US federal government.
There are a number of reasons why the government is encouraging the transfer of medical records from physical files to electronic format. Electronic health record files are easier to transfer, there is no confusion about poor handwriting, which some doctors are notorious for. There is also a general efficiency that can be achieved, thus possibly leading to cost savings for both the patient and the medical service provider.
A doctor, for example, can log into a computer in the treatment room and look at all vital and relevant information on the electronic patient record before making a diagnosis and prescribing treatment. He or she can then enter a prescription directly into the computer, which will not only record that the patient is now on that medication, but is also able to immediately send the order to the patient’s chosen pharmacy. Thus, the steps are saved and there is no need to worry about misplaced a file.
If an emergency physician needs access to a patient’s history and a doctor’s office is not open, an electronic health record may be readily available. This assumes that the hospital has access to the same database that the practice uses. This could save lives by ensuring that an incapacitated patient is not given a drug to which she is allergic or reacts adversely with a drug the patient is already receiving.
While these benefits are all positives, there are also some negatives associated with switching to an electronic health record. If, for example, the database of the doctor’s office is accessible by other institutions, there may be concerns that someone unauthorized could access the file for illegal purposes. While this might happen with physical files, the potential for abuse with electronic files is greater, because there’s more opportunity for more people to access them, and information can be moved, analyzed, and sold much more quickly. Also, electronic files, by their nature, require access to a computer, which in turn requires electricity. Therefore, during a natural disaster, when electricity might not be available, logs would also be unavailable.
Another possible downside is finding a uniform standard that everyone agrees on. Just as there are two major computer operating systems competing with each other, Microsoft® and Apple®, there is no nationally recognized standard for an electronic health record. For the system to run smoothly, the software must be uniform or there must be a way to easily convert between different standards.
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