Electronic Medical Records and Quality Improvement - Essay Sample

Introduction

It is evident that the application of the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system can be of immense value in the delivery of healthcare. However, its drawbacks need to be fixed, one major one being the possibility of documentation of wrong and incomplete information about patients. To resolve this issue, it is recommended that provider education is established at the classroom level. The EMR should be integrated into teaching so that training healthcare providers are conversant with every aspect of the system hence can use it perfectly. For hospitals, internal training for physicians on how to use the EMR should be incorporated to make them savvy in information technology with top-notch skills on entering patient data. Introducing internal training needs to begin with an agenda-setting where the hospital staff alongside policymakers determines the issue of wrong and incomplete information about patients. The problem identified will call for the formation of the policy which is legitimized and implemented.

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Educating physicians on EMR will enhance their competency in entering complete patient data. Complete patient data sets the foundation for effective, quick and efficient delivery of medical services to the patients with the least medical errors (Khoury, Iademarco & Riley, 2016). The importance of complete patient information also needs cooperation by the patient and the carers who can be informed through public forums conducted by public health professionals. The information can also be posted on hospital walls by the use of charts to remind the patient of the need for providing complete information.

Enhancing training for providers to be effective users of EMR promotes healthcare delivery principle that advocates for use of EMR with a view to limiting clerical work and dedicating more time to engaging direct patient care (Bastable, Sopczyk, Gramet & Jacobs, 2019). This is because savvy physicians will efficiently enter and retrieve patient data from EMR with ease and use much of their time addressing patient health issues. Training for physicians on being effective users of EMR utilizes budgeting for allocation of resources for internal training with a view to enhancing competency in the application of database systems. It is part of strategic planning to enhance quality improvement in healthcare delivery. Financing methods such as grants support internal training for physicians because such investment is deemed as a direct improvement of provider skills which leads to efficient care delivery and improvement of health facilities. EMR reduces paperwork and makes health facilities tidy and well organized.

References

Bastable, S. B., Sopczyk, D., Gramet, P., & Jacobs, K. (2019). Health professional as educator: Principles of teaching and learning. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Khoury, M. J., Iademarco, M. F., & Riley, W. T. (2016). Precision public health for the era of precision medicine. American journal of preventive medicine, 50(3), 398.