Role of EMR in Nursing Amidst a Changing Healthcare Technology Landscape

Electronic medical records are digital versions of medical charts. They contain all patients’ medical information, such as immunizations, previous consultations, allergies, past medication, diagnoses, and so forth. However the information in EMR systems cannot be shared outside the practice or clinic that created it. Nevertheless, software for EMR nursing plays an important role in patient care within the organization where it was created and maintained.  

Nurses are the main caregivers after a doctor’s consultation. They offer the necessary medication, diet, prescriptions, and post-care recovery advice. Charting systems in nursing homes enable nurses to access the necessary details like doctors’ notes, diagnoses, and patient care recommendations. As a medical organization grows, it is bound to handle more patients, requiring an increasing number of nurses. This makes it important to implement protocols for electronic charting systems for nurses.

Impact of EHR on the productivity of nurses?

Electronic nursing records have been linked to a positive ROI and improved organizational efficiency. Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry, especially when it comes to patient care. They need access to vital information like their health history, medications, allergies, and family history. EHRs provide quick and easy access to patient records, saving time and eliminating the need for manual entry. Standardized record formats like EHRs and EMRs help nurses document patient notes efficiently using wizards and templates. EHRs also improve efficiency by reporting critical lab values to healthcare providers promptly, making notifications simpler for nurses. EHRs also help nurses send medication reminders, prevent drug interactions, provide immediate access to patient medical history and medications, and document clinical care.

Top Benefits Of Electronic Health Records For Nurses

1. Improved satisfaction for nurses

Nurses (NPs) have reported improved satisfaction with the implementation of electronic health records. EHRs have allowed them to monitor patient progress, improve work accuracy, and enhance productivity. They gain timely access to patients’ records and orders, enabling them to deliver quality care. A study found that nurse satisfaction increased significantly due to ease of nursing documentation in EMR, reduced workload, improved patient safety, better collaboration, and medication information accuracy. EHRs provide comprehensive data that guides nurses toward more accurate, reliable care, ultimately reducing their overall workload. 

2. Enhanced Speed in Documentation

Studies show that nursing documentation in EMR can save nurses 24% of their time, boosting job satisfaction and allowing them to focus on patient-centered care. This can lead to reduced nursing staff and costs, improved patient outcomes, fewer medical errors, and shorter lengths of stay. Additionally, nursing EMR captures the vital signs of patients with connected devices, reducing transcription errors and freeing up time for NPs to deliver better care.

3. Reduced Errors

Nurses play a crucial role in administering medications to patients, but they are not immune to medication errors and near-misses. EHRs can help prevent these errors and reduce adverse drug events by 52%. Some nursing home EHR softwares are integrated with bar code scanning technology, alerting the nurses if they scan the wrong medication. Additionally, illegible handwriting, which was once a major cause of medical errors, is no longer a concern with the introduction of EHR nursing. Overall, EHRs can significantly reduce medication errors and improve patient safety.

How Charting Systems for Nurses Help?

Charting systems nursing are a vital component of the healthcare industry. They observe and ensure the day-to-day wellness of patients after doctors have administered the necessary treatments. Protocols for EMR nursing streamline the overall process flow of clinical management and allow a relatively small staff to handle the care of many patients. Let’s see how nurse charting software systems help –

1. Treatment Management

This is especially true for hospitals and other inpatient medical centers. Nurse charting systems allow nurses to help manage medication and dosage efficiently. A team of nurses can enter information like medication time and date, treatments, doses, and diet for patients admitted. This allows doctors to observe how patients react to the treatments administered and make adjustments accordingly.   

This level of hour-by-hour observation is especially important for people suffering from chronic diseases. Any fluctuations in patient vitals can be correlated with the medications or diet, helping doctors make informed decisions. As a result, the chances of medication errors are reduced, and doctors have greater clarity of drug interactions.

2. Charting 

Charting systems for nurses allow clinics to track patients’ progress and document the entire episode of inpatient care. This can also apply to outpatient care. Organizational protocols for healthcare EMR for nurses and other components of EMR nursing result in all the patient’s symptoms, complaints, and other current information being updated constantly in the medical records. For people seeking outpatient care, such updated information in EMR systems helps doctors prescribe accordingly.

When the patients return for follow-ups, doctors will better understand the patient’s responses to the treatment owing to the data in the EMR. Any variations will shed light on the effectiveness of the treatment and alert doctors to adverse effects.   

Custom-built nursing charting software can have templates tailored specifically according to the clinic’s needs. Moreover, automated healthcare solutions simplify the charting process with features like dictation and alerts in case of deviation of vital signs from established baselines.

3. Emergency Care

Although doctors handle emergency care, there are cases when experienced nurses must step up when the doctor isn’t available or if the clinic is short-staffed. During such times, the medical histories stored in EMR systems/EHR systems help the nurses make effective decisions faster. A centralized repository of medical information is extremely helpful for nurses to handle emergencies, at least until a doctor becomes available.

Types of Software For EMR Nursing

1. On-Premises Nursing Charting Systems Software

This type of EMR system is installed on the servers of the hospital, clinic, or nursing facility. The organization is responsible for all the day-to-day activities done on it, in addition to regular updates. The advantages of using on-premises software are that it can be customized per the organization’s requirement and maintains complete autonomy of the system (under regulatory compliance). Moreover, it is independent of the quality of internet connectivity as the organization’s internal network is used for accessing and sharing medical records.  

However, the downside of using on-premises EMR nursing software soutions is the initial cost of setting up. The hospital or clinic must invest in the required storage, server hardware, and IT infrastructure, which would also help in smooth functioning of the hospital scheduling software. Any expansion of capabilities would incur additional costs for the necessary hardware and the potential loss of valuable data in disasters like fires, earthquakes, and other outages.

2. Software Service Provider

These types of EMR nursing software services are obtained on a subscription basis from one company but hosted on remote servers by another cloud services provider. Healthcare cloud solutions have increased in popularity in the last decade, leading to the mushrooming in the market for such software, along with healthcare automation solutions.

The advantage of using a cloud software provider is that the organization doesn’t need to invest in hardware or IT infrastructure. So, the initial costs are considerably lower than that of on-premises software. Additionally, the EMR systems’ data can be securely accessed from anywhere, securely over the internet. This is enormously beneficial in the case of remote patient monitoring programs at assisted living and nursing facilities for seniors and is also useful when it comes to the patient scheduling software application.

3. Software As a Service (SaaS)

This is similar to the type of EMR nursing systems software provided by one company and hosted on a third-party server by another, as mentioned previously. But the difference is that the company that offers the software also hosts it on its servers. The software, along with the hosting services, are offered on a subscription basis. The same company manages all the responsibilities of maintaining the software, storage, processing, and backups. 

The SaaS provider also handles updates to the EMR nursing platform without additional charge. This type of medical records management software is rapidly growing in popularity among small and large healthcare facilities in the United States and the world over. It is less expensive, secure, complies with regulations, and offers flexibility for storage. Moreover, such software can also be used at single-physician practices and integrated with practice management solutions.

4. Cloud-Hosted Nursing Home EMR Systems

This is a digital platform to manage day-to-day activities at nursing homes. Such facilities offer non-emergency care, usually for seniors and others needing frequent observation but not emergency medical intervention. This software provides a dashboard that shows all the relevant information about everyday activities. It also enables the caregivers to access the required information securely from outside the facility. Subscribing and making it operational as a nursing charting system is simple and can happen within a couple of days.

Improving the Electronic Health Record Experience for Nurses

Electronic health records (EHRs) have transformed from a document transcription of care to a crucial tool for information, care coordination, and patient interactions within organizations. EHRs serve as a source of truth for key business operations, regulatory and financial activities, administrative and scheduling needs, and data and social determinant analysis. They also act as a data warehouse for other integrated healthcare technologies and medical equipment. The transformation of EHRs has been gradual for two decades, but the scope of these systems has grown significantly in the past two years. Clinicians must now manage countless data sources while maintaining accurate patient records. The relationship between nursing caregivers and EHR systems will play a significant role in improving the nursing EHR experience. As EHRs continue to evolve, nurses must learn to embrace technology as a valued member of the care team, incorporating it correctly, communicating with it, and updating it for optimal contribution.

Conclusion 

Nurses are crucial in the day-to-day activities at large hospitals and smaller organizations. This includes both clinical as well as administrative roles to help make the overall patient experience better. Since EMR systems offer a central repository of patients’ information, it is logical that protocols for their usage also include the team of nurses.   

As the healthcare industry adapts to the growing popularity of telehealth solutions and grapples with the growing demand for senior care, we can expect to see a shift in the role of nurses. This shift is best complemented by broadening the scope of EMR and enabling a greater involvement of nurses in primary care and non-emergency care.

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