Nursing Electronic Health Records

A brief introduction to storing data in healthcare electronically.

To Be able to build awareness among peers in the healthcare system.

An overview and illustration of the concepts.

What is Electronic Health Records (EHR)?

A modern tool for patient health information.
Nowadays, we are living in a technology, new invention, and innovation.
An electronic health record ( EHR) is a secure lifetime record of your health history (eHealth Ontario, 2023).
It gives accessible access among healthcare providers involved in the care plan of each patient.
These innovations provide faster access to the results like lab tests or any medical-related procedures.
This electronic health record contains all information regarding patient’s health history, allergies, immunization history, medicine, tests conducted, and treatment plan.
Basically the progress notes, charting and relevant details of our patients will be stored in a computerized format.

Challenges & Opportunities

What are the opportunities for using EHR in the healthcare system?

- - It is a huge opportunity for nurses to capture broad information and data about patients.
  - Chance to explore to find an answer to an unknown question.
  - An “exploration of naturally occurring data, combined with data mining techniques, alters traditional research paradigms”. (Samuels et al., 2015) (McGrath et al.,2015) (Bourgoine et al., 2015)
  - To save time and effort in the documentation.
  - Lessen the workload within the area.
  - Training and actual entry of data conducted by the IT department.

What are the challenges might encounter using EHR in the healthcare system?

- - For nurses who are not good with computers may encounter trouble and difficulties upon logging in and entering patient data.
  - The organization is updating the system for enhancement so each hospital might have a different format.
  - During maintenance, some data that we entered into patient records could not be saved or had some error.
  - Multiple and wrong entries of files are possible to occur.
  - Power interruption and technical issues could be a problem.

Privacy

Nurses and other allied healthcare professionals with access to patient health information must strictly adhere to the protocols. Still, we are responsible to protect patient's privacy and confidentiality.
It is important not to share the password with anyone or don’t save the password on the desktop and don’t forget to log out after encoding the patient's details. Change password as required usually every 3 months.
It is a crucial situation for other people not involved in patient care to find the patient's status, especially regarding mental issues. This electronic health record is progressively expanding throughout healthcare ensuring to reflect any procedure or medicine given to the patient is important matter failure to comply with our patient's life might be at risk. (Greene, 2013).

Importance of EHR to nursing

The changes are noticeable in the past years all over the world.
(Electronic health reporter, 2023). This introduction of electronic health records has a big impact on the healthcare industry such as; Speed and productivity Improve treatment, remote treatment in public health, and protection changing skill set.

With this electronic device, nurses can do charting in an easy and fastest way. Doctors can determine to previous medical treatment provided or if any allergies to certain drugs or food.
It also minimizes paper consumption instead of writing a long note with just a simple click in the portal.
With this technology healthcare industry can provide quality and improved care to the public even in far-flung areas.

Conclusion

This modernization helps the healthcare industry to a daily work task. As a nurse I’ve been writing using pen and paper way back home. When this electronic health record introduces to us it makes our task simply and accessible. The new system allows medical practitioners to work more accurately and spend less time handling patient information. (Electronic health reported, 2023).
However, healthcare worker must be aware that this electronic health records content a data of patients. They need to observe the privacy and confidentiality of every detail of patients. This tool created to help healthcare worker for easy and quick documentation and improving the delivery of quality care to public.
Consequences of this innovation might affect the quality of care given to the patient if the healthcare industry not following the protocol and policy.

Electronic Health Records ( EHR )

Do you think this upgrade in technology is helpful to us nurses in our daily work tasks?

Yes, it is for the better opportunity and ready access to all important details we need. Electronic Health Records makes nurses documentation and assessments shorter and simple.