Electronic Medical Records System (EMRs)

Electronic Medical Records Name Institution Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) Traditionally, healthcare was based on paper medical records. However, the introduction of electronic healthcare record changed this as it enabled healthcare professionals to store and manage patients’ records online without more paperwork. The process improves work efficiency and streamlines daily activities which have transitioned from paper-based to electronic health records. The idea of EMR began in the 1960s with the rise of the internet that allowed medical offices to use computers for record keeping (Wagner‐Menghin, Hirsch & Pokieser, 2018). The use of the internet allowed the recording and transfer of prescription histories of patients to be done online. Patients’ diagnosis and treatments could now be easily kept to allow effective communication and coordination among various medical departments to ensure better healthcare delivery. In this paper, I will describe the information given by tChief Information Officer (CIO) that I interviewed about the implementation of EMR system in their organization and how the information from the interview relate to class readings on the subject. Factors that Influence an Organization to Institute EMR System The CIO described that population growth and the number of vulnerable groups such as the aging people influence organizations to use EMR systems. "The rise in population size increases medical needs which create pressure on organizations to provide fast and effective healthcare services, and this has been made possible by the use of the EMR system,’’ he said. EMR system enables medical experts to device interventions and strategies that fit for specific circumstances that have enabled speedy treatment of patients to cover the increasing population needs. The ethical standards require that the information about patients to be made secure and confidential. The requirement could not be achieved by the traditional paperwork and this influenced organization to use the EMR system. He further noted that the adoption of EMR system has been influenced by the need to improve performance at a reduced cost in the long run. Initially, healthcare professionals could only handle fewer patients using the paper-based method as accessing information about the clients seemed to be slow and difficult which called for the need to use the EMR system. Resistance to Decision Making Process Further, the CIO explained that physicians tend to resist the decision to implement the EMR system. Medical professionals want to maintain eye contact with patients when giving treatments, but this is difficult when using a computer to record the information given as they will concentrate on the screen instead of maintaining eye contact with the patient. The CIO also described that patients become frustrated during the implementation process because most of the operations have to be stopped and only a few clients handled. At the same time, the cost of implementing the new system is high which reduces the amount of revenue collected by the organization. The adoption of the new system changes the way the employees conduct their operations (Logan et al., 2019). The workers have to change...