The benefits of ever increasing information technology part in health records keeping is substantial, yet the Electronic Health Records System (EHRS) also provides with increased liability risks for health care providers as to possible software or hardware problems or user errors.
On one hand, a quick transition to digital heath records seems long awaited part of the high-tech change. It may seem surprising that many health care professionals continue to keep notes and prescriptions on paper. Saying that, use of EHRS may result in problems with software bugs, creating additional liability exposures.
Congress has made a $19 billion investment in promoting health information technology, provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks to achieve nationwide usage of electronic health records by 2014.
The use of EHRS potentially can save a lot of time and money for you. For example, if you see a specialist for certain health problems. The specialist prescribes a medication to cure or sustain your disease, which works out fine for a few years. Everything is great, until the problem appears again. During that time, the doctor went to a new pratice and the old practice along with your medical records dissolved. Even though medical coverage didn’t require it, the most specialty practices, including the one your specialist joined, would refuse to see you unless you have tests and recommendations from your primary doctor. Wouldn’t you be furious about the waste of time and money spent on going to two other doctors for recommendations and repeating costly test that had already been performed? How many times has this scenario been repeated? How much money is being wasted? If your records were store in a secure central repository, the new speciality practice could have accessed the records instead of wasting your healthcare benefits.
In the same time, 2,700 pages with 133 new agencies, bureaus, committees and ever expanding regulations from a myriad of departments might also result in extra bureaucracy and funds waisting.
Well, let’s hope for the best. For you, for us, for the United States, and the World. We’re all human, and our blood is red color. May the peace be upon us.