8 Pros and Cons of Electronic Medical Records

There is a growing number of health practices that are becoming reliant on electronic medical records these days. This is a way of managing the volume of patient information gathered and accumulated. If your medical group is still uncertain about getting an automated software or system, then perhaps it is time to look at some pros and cons to help you decide.

List of Pros of Electronic Medical Records

1. Quick Access of Patient Data.
Getting an electronic medical record system should be a practical choice because it can make the job of your staff a lot easier and more convenient. This will make them get the desired results in terms of patient medical data in a much faster and easier way.

2. Can Provide Expansion Modules.
Electronic medical records make the job of keeping and retrieving valuable information more efficient around the health facility. In fact, there are software that can provide templates for expansion modules or specialties such as neurology, OB-GYNE, and gastroenterology, to name a few.

3. Consolidation of Records.
This method of recording should provide consolidated medical records of the patient. This means that the history of your patient, diagnostic testing results, and medical imaging outputs can be consolidated or integrated into one set of records. This will then be more accessible through any computer in the local network of the facility.

4. Processing Patient Information.
This system will be able to provide your organization with convenience that should enable the processing of patient information. This will ensure that payments from certain entities like Medicaid or Medicare can be made promptly.
Hence, by properly training your staff, you will be able to speed up the processing of patients and help your business become a lot profitable.

5. Convenient Way of Gathering Patient Data.
Advancements in technology should allow your staff to input patient data in various ways. For instance, the use of a stylus can better provide a convenient way of handwriting or scanning a piece of paper with handwritten information on it by turning it into valuable digital information.

List of Cons of Electronic Medical Records

1. Patient Privacy Concerns.
Electronic medical records can pose privacy concerns in which it can put the organization at risk. This can happen if your staff will not follow privacy protocols to a certain degree. So, the more convenient it is to attain medical records, the more it is easier to violate the privacy of patients.

2. Issues of Identity Theft.
There are fears that unauthorized people can gain access to sensitive and confidential medical records. In fact, unscrupulous personnel can gain access on patient data to use it for committing fraud.

3. Issues of Data Loss.
Electronic medical records should have issues regarding loss of data. This can be caused by certain computer crashes that could wipe out essential patient data that was accumulated for a number of years. Thus, it will jeopardize the ability of your staff to ensure the continuity of care for your patients.