Evolution of the Electronic Health Record

Evolution of the Electronic health remember By Belinda Martorelli 11 January 2012 The beginnings of a standardized electronic health record outline started in the 1960s. They were loosely written accounts of the patients complaints. As the systems developed, the records followed a business format, with the development being more useful for the financials and statistics. (Johns, Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health study trouble Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. It was reported by Summerfield and Empey that at least 73 hospitals were using computerized systems for patients records and there were 28 projects underway to store and retrieve clinically relevant information. Over time other systems were created such as the CHCS Composite Health condole with System used by the Department of Defense, COSTAR the calculating machine Stored Ambulatory accede- used worldwide, and DHCP De-Centralized Hospital Computer Program cultivated by the Veterans judgeship used natio nwide, to name a few. Electronic Health Records, National Institutes of Health National Center for look Resources, Overview, April 2006, The MITRE Corporation) The Institute of Medicine (IOM) saw new technologies in the mid 1980s that they wished to implement in Electronic Health Records (EHR) to reduce duplicate records and increase accuracy. In 1991, a committee was created to make a report and recommendations. That first report was titled The Computer-based Patient Record An Essential Technology for Health Care.The results of this report spoke about the characteristics, features and purposes of the electronic record. (Johns, Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health Information worry Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. ) Early in 1999, a report came out that revealed between 44,000 and 98,000 American hospital patients died due to medical errors. Embracing information technology was a priority along with other factors that needed improvement in the American health care System. Ot her reports focused on patient safety and the quality of care they received. Johns, Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health Information Management Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. ) The next important report the IOM produced, in 2003, dealt with the standardization of EHRs to improve patient safety. They created an 8-point list of what EHRs could do. 1. administrative processes 2. Decision support 3. Electronic communication and connectivity 4. Health information and data 5. Order entry/ perplexity 6. Patient support 7. Reporting and population health management 8. Results management (Johns, Merida L. Ed. ) (2011) Health Information Management Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. Source adapted from Kohn 2000. ) There was a study done in 2009 reporting the set-up of health information technology, with limited success, in the industry. The IOM and the National Research Council spoke about the shortfall of implementing the technology, creating a health care IT chasm. (Johns , Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health Information Management Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. Source adapted from Kohn 2000. Some of the challenges to having EHRs can be system crashes, slow response time and lack of communication between disciplines. Purchasing a system off the shelf can be problematic. It may not be an exact fit. It can as well be cost prohibitive. Buying components to meet the facilities needs might perform better. The Personal Health Record (PHR) is controlled by the patient. It contains information about their diseases, hospitalizations, surgeries and any other pertinent facts that affect the patient. Its location can be on a flash drive, their computer or on the Web.It can list demographics like occupation, health related plans and their current health status along with a living will, organ donation choices and a durable power of attorney. (Johns, Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health Information Management Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition. ) Refer ences Electronic Health Records, National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources, Overview, April 2006, The MITRE Corporation Johns, Merida L. (Ed. ) (2011) Health Information Management Technology, Illinois Chicago, Third Edition.