EHR and Patient Safety- How EHR ensures the safety of Patients?

Electronic health records, alias EHR, are the most fascinating healthcare tech innovations. And needs no introduction. Its potential in helping healthcare practitioners and patients is immense. Today, almost every healthcare practice has adopted or integrated EHR, be it Epic Systems EHR or Allscripts EHR integration. In recent years, medical practices of all sizes and specialties have begun to use medical software to manage their patients and care providers. And this increase in EHR use is due to the numerous benefits of this software.   

When well-designed EHRs are properly deployed and used, they can alleviate many healthcare-related concerns. For instance, concerns about medication safety, diagnostic errors, and communication problems. Medication-related errors have often been reduced by using computerized physician order entry (CPOE). According to some research, properly implementing interoperable health information technology (HIT), systems can improve patient safety by establishing more effective communication mechanisms. EHRs can also improve patient safety by detecting missed diagnoses, issuing diagnostic error notifications to avoid misdiagnosis, and supporting practitioners in acquiring and synthesizing patient data. Well, EHR and patient safety are often interlinked, considering the technological solution’s benefits. So, here we’ve shared some of how EHR systems improve patient safety. And also explains how EHR and patient safety are interlinked. 

Ways Electronic Health Records and Patient Safety are Interconnected  

As per HealthIt.gov, just 42% of office-based physicians used EHRs in 2008, but by 2017, that percentage had jumped to nearly 86%. And it is currently going much higher. EHRs have always helped to advance the goal of enhancing patient care by strengthening clinician-patient connections and collaboration. And the use of EHRs extends far beyond simply keeping patient data digitally. When utilized effectively, quality, certified EHRs have the potential to improve patient safety in a variety of ways.  

1. Helps in prescribing medicines  

EHRs can help providers in deciding what treatments or medications are for patients. As EHR and patient safety are interconnected, it can assist doctors in prescribing drugs that will not have any side effects on them. Besides, with electronic health records, doctors have complete information on patients’ history of medications. And this helps when prescribing new drugs, as they know previously prescribed medicine or treatment. EHRs can also help you determine whether a patient has any allergies, allowing you to prescribe safe medications. 

2. Prevents potential side effects 

When doctors leverage EHR integration, they benefit from improved decision-making tools. These tools can reduce adverse events caused by drug interactions with other medications or food or drug allergies. Insights from patient history and medication information allow physicians to make better decisions that lower the likelihood of treatment-related side effects. The information captured in inpatient EHRs is shared among medical support teams, giving doctors additional information to assist patient care decisions.

3. Aid notifications and alerts systems 

Another important aspect of EHR/EMR and patient safety is utilizing the system to maintain track of your patient’s therapy. Alerts can be sent to their phone to remind the patient of their appointment. This can be advantageous for babies and infants who require a variety of immunizations during their lives. Alerts are sent to their parents so they never miss out on a vaccine for their youngsters. Aside from that, alerts can be used when a patient misses an appointment or if there is an error in their medical records. And all these are possible through the EHR patients’ data.  

4. Enhance clinicians’ decision-making 

When doctors have access to a patient’s complete medical history during the diagnosis, they can make the process much more convenient and make better patient decisions: medical history and results of the patient’s most recent testing, such as blood tests and X-rays. Having thorough information about patients’ health can enable doctors to draw actionable insights and ensure patients’ safety. Another innovative idea would be integrating EHR with a remote patient monitoring system, boosting clinicians’ decision-making. 

5. Disease prevention 

EHRs can identify patients who didn’t undertake necessary screening examinations. Preventive measures can often help providers detect early indicators of acute or chronic diseases such as kidney disease and colon cancer.   

Besides, EHR systems can also enable patients to manage their health risks by learning about them. Although patients cannot always avoid diseases, they can learn to identify the potential risks that raise their chances of contracting preventable diseases. This can result in better outcomes and a lower incidence of avoidable diseases in patients. 

6. Enhances patient engagement and compliance 

Effective patient-provider communication is still essential for better patient outcomes. EHRs and the utilization of technology, such as patient portals, serve to strengthen this communication. When patients can see their records and doctors’ notes, they are better equipped to ask their doctors follow-up questions concerning treatment. However, mistakes or misunderstandings can also occur. But patients can quickly call their provider to resolve their doubts. The better the patient understands their health and diagnosis, the better care outcomes will be.  

Moreover, EHR development and implementation can substantially increase patient safety. Besides, patient engagement and patient empowerment are two of the most crucial factors of patient safety. Providers are only sometimes able to check their patients closely. Even if clinicians give good diagnoses and complete therapy, patients must follow the treatment regimens outlined by the care team. It’s quite clear that EHR patient safety is eventually the result of patient engagement and compliance with their treatments.  

7. Eases urgent/emergency care 

Emergencies can be stressful. If a patient is unconscious, their family and friends may spend hours obtaining medical information from their primary caretaker. But time is important in such urgent health emergencies. So, wasting crucial hours to obtain records might be fatal for some patients. In such cases, having electronic health records proves to be extremely useful. With an EHR, providers can quickly obtain data from the patient’s primary care physician or a family member.

8. Improves data sharing 

Having electronic health records means hospitals or healthcare providers can also create applications allowing patients to access their health data readily. Patients can exchange data with their loved ones and other doctors using mobile applications and portals. If a patient sees multiple doctors for different reasons, their treatment plans and drugs can be shared with the other doctors via EHR. In short, this gives providers a more complete picture of a person’s health. And this is a great way to prevent diseases, make decisions and ensure patient safety.   

9. Enhances clinical research 

Making use of the capabilities of EHRs and contemporary technological developments enhances clinical research quality by population category, drug trial participation, and many other factors. Further, medical teams can easily monitor treatment programs and patient disease development. And EHR-enabled reports empower clinicians to make the best clinical decisions. This also makes sharing information with research facilities, peers, and participants easy.  

10. Improve automation 

The Automation provided by EHRs can inevitably increase patient safety in various ways. If patients fail to pick up necessary medications, physicians get notified to remind or assist them in obtaining the required prescription. Another example would be a diabetes patient whose scores exceed certain thresholds. EHR automation can automatically enroll patients in an interactive, instructional process to assist them in better managing their disease.   

Additionally, EHRs automate operations to eliminate human error and the harm it can do to patients through smooth data transfer and real-time communication. EHRs, for example, can alert the patient’s physician to schedule a follow-up visit if the patient seeks emergency care.  

Conclusion

Patients are demanding greater cost and accountability as healthcare consumerism makes advancements. Patient portals that sync and integrate with a practice’s EHR benefit patients by allowing them to communicate with their care team, renew prescriptions, schedule visits, check test results, and more. So, in every way, electronic health records and patient safety are interrelated. Instead of being a passive subject, EHRs can assist patients in becoming active participants in their care. Above all, it enables patients to understand their medical history better and can integrate cutting-edge technology and services to ensure patient safety.  

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