Increasing Initiatives to Digitalize the Healthcare Sector Is Expected To Boost Demand for Electronic Medical Records

 

An electronic medical record (EMR) is essentially a systematized collation of individual patient and family health information in an electronic format. This information is then shared across several health care locations. This will save time, money and provide patients with more comprehensive care. Increasing initiatives to digitalize the healthcare sector is expected to boost demand for EMR. For instance, in November 2019, Germany introduced Digital Supply Act to digitalize healthcare. Under the new legislation, doctors will be able to prescribe digital health apps to patients, which can be reimbursed by the country’s statutory health insurance.

There are several advantages to using EMR. The main advantage is that you do not need to wait for the paper records to go through the paper processing before you can use them. Another advantage to electronic medical records is that they allow for greater privacy. Electronic health records allow only the doctor to see these records and the doctor can check to make sure that the data is accurate.

Electronic medical records also help reduce the costs associated with health care. Since you do not have to physically hold all of the records, the cost of the paper is cut down to a fraction of what it would cost in a physical hospital. This means less for your pocketbook and less for the doctor's pockets. Another way that electronic records help the doctor's pocketbook is that they cost less to print.

One disadvantage to electronic medical records is that many health care professionals have not used the technology. Some people believe that this technology is more expensive than paper records. However, electronic records cost less to create and store than their counterparts of paper records. Another disadvantage to electronic medical records is that they cannot be altered. As long as you adhere to the rules and regulations that govern the distribution of electronic files, you will not be able to change the data that is contained in the file. If you do modify the data, the original file cannot be recovered.

While there is some controversy regarding electronic medical records, some doctors believe that they are beneficial. Doctors who use electronic records can see a complete history on a patient much quicker and can also see how long the patient has been taking their medications. This allows the doctor to prescribe a new medication if necessary and to make adjustments to their treatment.