Communication Paper

Communication Paper

There are many different modes of communication in today’s society. One in particular is the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). This is computerized communication allowing the review of medical records between medical professionals and consumers. EMR’s maintain patient data, increase efficiency, reduce documentation errors, and reduce costs for medical supplies. The EMR system can replace paper charts which contains a patient’s medical records from within one practice (HealthIT.gov, N/A). EMR’s can help improve the overall quality of health care for patients.

There are several benefits for patients with the use of an EMR system. An EMR system can give the consumer peace of mind knowing that their medical information is kept safe and secure. This can also improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients and allow for fewer mistakes in personal health records (MicroMD, N/A). The patient has to feel comfortable with the physician in order to disclose personal information that will help the physician diagnose and treat the patient. “Patients using the EMR’s are significantly more satisfied with their doctors overall (78% vs. 68%)” (DeGaspari, 2013). Maintaining the patient confidentiality is important within an organization, especially when using EMR’s, because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

EMR’s can help improve efficiency in many ways:

1. Provide accessibility to patient records.

2. Improve communication between providers, pharmacies, laboratories, and radiology departments.

3. Improve communication in health care facilities.

4. Reduce costs by eliminating paper trails.

5. Improve the decisions made through CDSS functions.

Electronic medical records create the safety that patients need for the diagnosis and security of health records. When there is a decrease of medical record mistakes it benefits not only the physician but also the patient. There can also be some disadvantages to EMR’s, for...