IS EMR Software Really Better than Paper Files?
A lot of doctors and healthcare facilities have already switched to EMR (electronic medical records) over traditional paper records. However, there are some “old school” facilities that still use a traditional filing system. So, are EMR really better than paper files for organizing patient records? This article will examine EMR, and share the many benefits that quality EMR software can bring to your organization.
EMR have a variety of advantages over traditional paper records. Paper records can easily become misplaced, mishandled, or even become lost or stolen. With that said, here are 3 more reasons why EMR are superior to traditional paper records.
1. EMR provides a reduced amount of errors as opposed to paper records. Often times when annotations or corrections are made to paper records, a lot of human errors occur. These natural human errors cause many patient files to be incomplete, or inaccurate. EMR provide accurate data, which can be used to best diagnose and treat patients.
2. EMR makes your healthcare organization run more efficiently. Admittedly the correlation is not direct, but electronic medical records increase the organization of your patient records, meaning that when you need to find something you will know exactly where to look. Often time’s traditional paper files get misplaced, and as a result it takes time, effort, and hours to find the records. Within that amount of time your physician could have seen more patients, which would increase the daily revenues of the healthcare facility.
3. EMR Software makes doctor collaboration easy! When patient files are stored in electronic format, doctors who treat the same patients can easily network, view the patient records, and analyze them accordingly. As medical technologies continue to advance, doctor collaboration is going to become even more important, which is why EMR are becoming essential in the medical field.
These are just a few of the many reasons to switch to EMR over traditional paper records. If you are thinking about implementing an EMR program for your facility, I encourage you to do your research and find the EMR software that is right for your healthcare facility.
EMR software systems are now being required for Medicare and Medicaid providers to receive full payment. EMR software system funding from the Federal Government is now available for most doctors and hospitals.