An electronic medical record of a patient (EMR) is an integral part of any medical information system. Even if you have real professionals working in your clinic, you need convenient and understandable functionality for storing and managing information about your patients.
In this article, we will explain why it is important to invest in EMR software development services and how well-organized EMR systems help to prevent burnout among healthcare workers and improve the quality of care for patients.
Benefits of Switching to EMR Software
EMR is a promising direction in the development of outpatient medical care. The abundance of paper cards with their significant shortcomings makes not only patients suffer but also all employees of polyclinics. The EMR was developed for the greater convenience of patients and healthcare workers. In addition, it allows you to significantly simplify the activities of the organizational, methodological, and statistical departments of any medical institution.
Most importantly, you can include exactly the same information in an electronic medical record as in its paper counterpart.
EMR Systems Keep Doctors Positively Engaged With Their Work
Until recently, the incorrect implementation and structure of the electronic medical record forced highly qualified doctors to devote most of their time not to receive a patient, but to enter data about him. The doctor should not bear the burden of the administrative questions and drown in documents, while he can advise more patients and treat them more attentively.
Filling out paper or awkward electronic health records all day long can lead your employees to:
- rapid fatigue;
- loss of concentration, which affects the relationship between the doctor and the patient;
- creating extra work when it is not needed.
A well-designed and customized EMR systems structure data in such a way that:
- improve the quality of medical decision-making;
- minimize manual data entry;
- collect case histories, certificates, and laboratory test results in one place.
The main goal of an EMR system is to structure information about a patient in such a way that it is more convenient and easier for a doctor to assess the patient’s condition and make the right clinical decisions. When a system is designed inconveniently and unintuitively, employees will constantly experience stress when filling it out.
Since burnout among healthcare workers has been recognized as an important factor threatening patient safety, it is definitely worth paying attention to the choice of a simple and convenient electronic medical record. Nowadays, doctors of all levels are having a hard time, so low-quality software in your clinic should not become another obstacle to their work. In some areas of medicine, physician burnout is turning into a real crisis, as doctors retire early, and young doctors don’t want to pick up the torch.
In order to reduce professional burnout of specialists and improve the quality of patient care, it is necessary to:
- simplify existing workflows;
- digitize all paper patient data that was previously maintained in the clinic;
- develop an intuitive EMR system so that even age-related doctors can easily use it;
- make sure that all changes in the clinic take into account the convenience of the specialists.
What are the Benefits of EMR Software for Patients?
Behind the closed doors of the clinic, there are many different activities aimed at improving the service and quality of medical services. However, in our time it is very important to tell the patient how he will be treated and why. The patient should receive all the information from his attending physician, and not from Internet sources or reviews of acquaintances. It will help to build trust between patients and doctors.
The process of providing such information to the patient can be automated using EMR. Whether it’s an upcoming appointment or a new lab investigation, with such a software healthcare workers can:
- confirm new entries;
- remind patients of upcoming appointments;
- share lab results;
- create consultation notes and recipes;
- inform patients about outstanding payments.
- Fast and Convenient Preparation of Documents
Patients really don’t want to wait. Whether they’re worried about upcoming lab results or have some personal business ahead of them, it’s the medical center’s job to make sure patients have the best possible experience with the staff.
In a carefully completed electronic medical record, healthcare workers can quickly create the documents and prescriptions that the patient needs.
- Confidentiality
The next benefit that the patient receives is confidentiality. Information about the doctor’s appointment, the diagnosis made and the results of medical research will become inaccessible to representatives of the junior medical staff. The problem is that with a modern system of accounting and data storage, medical records, as a rule, are located in the registry. Employees working there have full access to the cards and can look at absolutely any card not only of their own interest but also at someone’s request. The new system for storing patient medical data will completely exclude such a possibility.
- Appointment Reminder
It is very important to send confirmation to patients that their appointment has been successfully booked, and even better, to fix this information with a reminder. Patients may miss an appointment for a variety of reasons, not because they simply forgot about it. Thus, you should have a way to control the process so that the number of cancellations and no-shows is kept to a minimum.
Empeek Provides the Healthcare Industry With Effective EMR Solutions
Empeek is a custom EMR and EHR software development company that can in a secure and cost-efficient way to turn the idea into a ready-to-go solution. Our solutions aimed to meet many challenges. We provide:
- fully-customized solutions with no hidden charges;
- seamless interoperability;
- post-launch maintenance;
- value-added functionality;
- intuitive UI;
- high compliance standards;
- data security.
Conclusion
The main advantage of EMR is the convenience and ease of use. To enter data into them, the doctor only needs to find a patient in a computer program by searching by his full name. Moreover, EMR systems help to keep information about patients confidential. Empeek is actively looking for ways to reduce the pressure on all healthcare professionals and remove barriers such as paperwork and other causes of overwork.
