{"id":15723,"date":"2021-11-08T16:16:48","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T10:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arkasoftwares.com\/blog\/?p=15723"},"modified":"2024-04-25T12:55:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:55:25","slug":"why-electronic-health-records-better-than-paper-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arkasoftwares.com\/blog\/why-electronic-health-records-better-than-paper-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Electronic Health Records better than Paper Records?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Healthcare is a sector that has observed a plethora of transformations in recent decades, as far as technology induction is concerned. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gone are the days when patients used to visit the doctor for any ailment, used to describe their health conditions and the doctor used to scribble all those details on a piece of paper, and then we used to carry the same paper or file to keep your documentation intact. Such an arrangement used to be called a Paper Medical Record. <\/span><\/p>\n

It used to be an administrative and logistical nightmare, and this could be confirmed by the people in the medical sector<\/strong><\/a>, who usually chuckle when recalling those days. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interoperability between different hospitals was an unheard-of concept in those days due to obvious constraints.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"Electronic<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Now if you visit any Doctor<\/strong><\/a>, you may see an entirely different story, as now Doctors take the notes on their Tabs or Laptops, which is updated in software as a medical record, which is also known as an electronic medical record (EMR) or an electronic health record (EHR). <\/span><\/p>\n

With the numerous benefits offered by Electronic records, healthcare institutions have adopted this method of recording patient information, leaving behind the traditional paper-based medical record system.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we will discuss the basic differences between paper records and Electronic Health records and the practical, financial, and technological advantages we can expect from Electronic Health Records.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/span>What is Electronic health records?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

An EHR (electronic health record) is an individual\u2019s health document that can be recorded and stored digitally and then accessible using smartphones or computers, and that could be easily shared between multiple healthcare entities and stakeholders. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>What is a Paper Medical Record?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n

\"Paper<\/p>\n

With the advent of technology, the usage of paper medical records is on constant decline due to several disadvantages it offers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/span>Difference between EHR and Paper Medical Record<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

There are some fundamental differences between both terms.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Parameters<\/th>\nPaper Medical Record<\/th>\nElectronic Health Record<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Captured<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nManually on Paper<\/span><\/td>\nManually on a Digital device<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Emergency Access<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nRecording information on paper requires more time and effort from healthcare professionals. During an emergency, such delays could prove fatal as well.<\/span><\/td>\nEHRs are comparatively easy to record; they save vital time during a patient\u2019s visit, and during emergency situations, EHRs can certainly provide critical and life-saving information immediately, which could prove lifesaving.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cost Factor<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nThe cost of maintaining the paper records is comparatively low, and it requires storage and human administrative costs along with the paper.<\/span><\/td>\nThe initial setup cost to purchase, develop and implement a full-fledged EHR system is too high, though the cost is recovered as time passes.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Environmental Impact<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nA typical patient medical record could encompass close to hundreds of pages or might run even into thousands of pages in a specific critical case. It is quite difficult to manage paper records, and they do have adverse environmental impacts, as more trees are used to make more papers.<\/span><\/td>\nOne of the biggest benefits of going for Electronic records is the reduction of adverse environmental impacts, as it helps us save paper, trees, and other vital resources required to develop paper products.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Security Risk<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nPaper records are more prone to security breaches and other sorts of compromises, as they can easily be stolen or misplaced. It is also difficult to store the paper records in a secure area, as it takes up too much space and requires other checks and controls.<\/span><\/td>\nEHRs are also at risk due to increasing number of cyberattacks and other vulnerabilities. It is very important and costly to implement an adequate level of security to protect patient records, which are highly sensitive in nature. Any sort of cybersecurity attack or data breach may have grave consequences for healthcare service providers.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Sharing<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nOne of the biggest challenges with paper records was the tedious procedure while sharing them with other stakeholders. It was indeed a herculean task to find the record from a mound of files and then scan, mail, or fax their copies to the intended recipients.<\/span><\/td>\nEHRs are a big help here, as patients and healthcare personnel can easily access the required information via their smartphones, website, or mobile application and then share it with the intended recipient over a highly secured network.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Learning Curve<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nIt is quite easy to learn how to make entries in Paper records, and one doesn\u2019t require a separate training or gadget to fulfil this responsibility.<\/span><\/td>\nLearning the management of EHRs is slightly difficult, as one must operate some sort of digital gadget and should be well versed with the record entering process, but it becomes easy once the healthcare staff learns it.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accuracy and Readability<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nReading a paper medical record, especially a physician\u2019s prescription, could be a very hard task. Physicians are infamous for their difficult penmanship, which is often hard to decipher and read, and it can be easily misinterpreted by others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paper records also have limited space, which forces healthcare staff to add every possible information in that space, which often develop to inaccuracies in the records.<\/span><\/td>\n

On the other hand, the Electronic records are written with standardized terminology and typeface, which leaves no room for confusion and the record becomes understandable for everyone. The EHRs can be recorded without any concerns for additional space, which mitigates concerns related to illegibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Storage<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nTo store the Paper medical records, the healthcare practices must arrange and maintain large warehouses. The paper records take up huge space, are not easy to maintain, and tend to deteriorate over time.<\/span><\/td>\nA cloud-based EHR record eliminates worries of extra space and resources. The management and maintenance of Electronic records are quite easy.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Accessibility<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nPaper medical records could be accessed only after making the request to the warehouse staff, which is only available during specific times.<\/span><\/td>\nElectronic medical records could be accessed by healthcare professionals from anywhere and instantly. Mobile EMRs offers seamless accessibility on smartphones, which makes them a big utility for the patients and healthcare staff, as they can access the records anywhere and anytime.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Administrative Burdens<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nIt is difficult to manage paper medical records and it put lots of administrative constraints on healthcare practice.<\/span><\/td>\nElectronic records are easily manageable and put less administrative compulsion and burden.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Vulnerability<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nPaper medical records are highly vulnerable to accident, natural calamities, and other incidents. If a medical record is destroyed, then it is very difficult to reproduce it, until and unless we have a copy in place.<\/span><\/td>\nElectronic records could be stored at multiple locations, so that practice can recover them during any unwarranted situation. Though electronic records are vulnerable to security breach and attacks, such threats could be mitigated by implementing adequate security.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Record Navigation<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nNavigation of records is a big challenge for Paper medical records, as keeping them in order, sorting them out is not easy.<\/span><\/td>\nEHR offers easy navigation through the medical history of a patient. We can simply access a specific page or keyword in a few mouse clicks, instead of traversing through all the pages of report.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<\/table>\n\n

Read Also: Guide to Develop Remote Patient Health Management Solution<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/div>\n\n

<\/span>How is the EHR better than Paper medical records?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

There is no doubt that EHR<\/strong><\/a> offers a stupendous ability to exchange electronic health information<\/strong><\/a>. It also helps healthcare service providers offer safer care with higher quality, which helps an organization develop tangible improvements for itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

EHRs also help service providers manage patients’ care in ineffective ways, which certainly enhances customer satisfaction. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here we have a few parameters, which makes EHR a better option than the conventional Paper medical record.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the name suggests, a Paper medical record contains information about the patient<\/strong><\/a>, contact information, health history, previous procedures, and surgery information, that can be stored and accessed only in paper format within a healthcare entity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, an Electronic Health Record<\/strong><\/a> includes the patient\u2019s contact information, ailment history, family history, information about allergies, a list of current and past medications, information about previous procedures and surgeries, and other important information about the patient.<\/span><\/p>\n\n