The Many Benefits of Electronic Health Records

The medical industry has come a long way from where it was in years past, and one of the most prevalent changes in the industry is the use of electronic health records. There are so many benefits to the use of these electronic medical records; it is a wonder that not everybody has implemented them into their daily office operations.

One obvious benefit is the elimination of paper product waste. Imagine not having to store or shred piles and piles of copy paper every week. Even with recycling, the amount of paper thrown out each week from medical facilities around the world is staggering. With the use of electronic health records, gone are the days of the spiral-bound appointment book and all of its erasures. An appointment can be scheduled quickly and cancelled just as fast. The flow of information through computerized medical facilities is nearly one hundred percent smoother than just ten years ago and is more readily shared office to office.

Any medical practice would benefit from using electronic health records. From the small podiatrist office to the large ophthalmology practice, all would find some benefit to using such technology. Patients would certainly feel better not having their vital stats on paper that could wind up in the hands of just about anybody. Why not have the patient fill out their forms electronically? There would be no paper needed to make copies of different forms to fill out. For their insurance cards and photo identification, simply scan these cards into the patient’s electronic chart and eliminate the need to make photocopies.

A medical practice that has several locations in addition to its main office would have the added benefit of being able to see a patient’s information from any location in the practice. No more interoffice envelopes needed to send paper records back and forth. Gone are the days of the doctor calling a receptionist in another office and having them fax a patient’s chart note over. The physician can open up the patient’s electronic medical records and see everything at a glance.

These are just few of the many benefits of electronic health records.