Advantages of EHRs for Medicaid and Medicare Providers
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided financial incentives to eligible medical professionals, hospitals and Medicare Advantage organizations and resulted in an increase in the meaningful use of qualified electronic health records throughout the health care industry. This spurred the widespread adoption, implementation and upgrade of health information technology by eligible professionals and hospitals.
Overall Advantages of EHRs
EHRs help an organization improve the quality and convenience of the healthcare it delivers. EHRs also help to improve diagnostics and patient outcomes, simplify prescribing medications and improve risk management in preventing malpractice claims. A national survey reported several significant benefits to using an EHR:1
94 percent of providers report EHRs made records readily available at point of care. 88 percent agreed EHRs produced clinical benefits for their practice. 75 percent of providers reported that EHRs allowed them to deliver better patient care.
EHRs Improve Healthcare Quality and Convenience
Healthcare providers can make medical better decisions with EHRs. With more complete and rapid access to patient records, providers enhance their ability to make informed treatment decisions swiftly and safely.
EHRs provide legible and complete documentation that improves the accuracy of medical coding and billing. More accurate medical coding and billing means fewer rejected claims and improved cash flow. EHRs have complete patient histories, which makes prescribing medications safer and more reliable.
EHRs Improve Diagnostics and Outcomes for Patients
When healthcare providers can access complete and accurate information, their patients receive higher quality medical care.2 EHRs enhance the ability to diagnose diseases and illnesses. EHRs also help to reduce or prevent medical errors, advancing positive patient outcomes.
EHRs don’t only store and transmit patient information; EHRs can also process the data. EHRs can analyze information in ways that make a difference for patients.
EHRs Make Prescribing Medications Easier and More Accurate and Improve Patient Outcomes
One study reported high patient satisfaction regarding obtaining prescription medications:3
92 percent were glad their health care provider used e-prescribing. 90 percent reported rarely having to wait for their prescriptions at pharmacies. 76 percent reported e-prescribing made it easier to obtain medications. 63 percent reported fewer medication errors.
EHRs Help Improve Risk Management
EHRs may improve risk management, because they:
- Provide medical reminders and alerts
- Improve the analysis of patient information
- Improve patient data communication
- Make it easier to see all parts of a patient’s condition
- Offer support for diagnosis and therapeutic decisions
- Collect all relevant data into one place
- Enable evidence-based decisions at point of care
- Provide built-in protections that warn against prescription contraindications
- Enhance research and monitoring to improve clinical quality
Your Organization Needs the Right EHR Vendor to Reap the Benefits
An organization requires a reputable and supportive EHR vendor to reap the full benefits of EHRs. An EHR vendor that has more advanced features and functionalities provides the technology needed to improve patient care, helps healthcare providers make more accurate diagnoses, improves the e-prescribing process and helps contain future malpractice claims.