Information System Application for Decision Making. EHR for Decision-Making

EHR for Decision-Making
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EHR for Decision-Making
Abstract
With medical errors claiming more lives than some chronic conditions, the world is turning to technology to find ways to mitigate such issues. The adoption of EHR is proving quite beneficial in the healthcare sector as it is helping enhance the quality of care as well as patient safety. Through its assistance to nurses and other medical practitioners, decision-making has been swift and accurate. Since its inception, EHR systems have helped medical practitioners to plan and respond to certain conditions. With large amounts of data made available to medical practitioners, developing patterns and curbing diseases is currently being made more efficient. However, it is also crucial to consider the selection as well as the implementation process of the systems. Another factor that is side by side with the selection and implementation process involves the costs to be incurred. Healthcare organizations need to make sure they are financially equipped to handle adjustments that come with EHR systems. Finally, the role of nurses must never be ignored. Nurses are key to the successful adoption and implementation of EHRs in healthcare organizations. So, they have to be involved in the entire process.
Introduction
All over the world, electronic health records or EHR are slowly being adopted and integrated into the healthcare sector. With fully working EHR systems, hospitals will have the golden opportunity to enhance the quality of care and also ensure patient safety. Dornan et al. (2019) add that with EHR adoption, it will be possible for hospitals to conduct evaluations on service provision. This will, of course, lead to opportunities for improvement and enhancement of healthcare provision which translates to better patient outcomes. However, one big question about the adoption of EHR in the healthcare sector is whether such systems will help enhance the quality of decision making. Every decision a healthcare practitioner makes determines whether someone gets to live or not. Other decisions determine whether a person will end up in a wheelchair or not. With the many medical errors being reported in the healthcare sector, it is time to think of a permanent solution. Currently, Rodziewicz and Hipskind (2020) note that medical errors have become a “leading cause of death in the United States.” What this means is that nurses and other medical practitioners have been making wrong choices that have permanent implications. On account of the above, this paper thus seeks to discuss the impact of EHR on the quality of decision making, the selection and implementation process, costs associated with EHR, and the role of nurses in selecting and evaluating EHR.
Application’s impact on Quality of Decision-Making
One way that EHRs help enhance the quality of decision making is by helping the healthcare sector track risk factors associated with certain conditions. Since the EHRs have information about everyone and their conditions, they offer an easier route for medical practitioners to link risk factors over time (Dornan et al., 2019). In such situations, the quality of decisions made will indeed be enhanced as the medical practitioner...