You may think that the computers your doctor uses are essentially the same as the ones you have in your home or office, just using different software. While the computer chips, processors, and memory may be the same, software isn’t the only difference. Medical offices, hospitals, and other health care facilities are finding that the digital age requires new solutions. This has led to the birth of the emr, electronic medical record.
An EMR is a patient record that is recorded electronically. This means no more handwritten charts or paper patient records. All the information is stored and updated digitally, on computers and backed up on special drives and disks. While this offers a host of advantages in storage, copying, and time spent handling paper documents, one of the biggest advantages in medical charting .
A patient’s chart can now follow them from one facility to another. Instead of a specialist or laboratory having to fax, mail, or hand deliver a report to a primary physician, they can simply amend their copy of the EMR and then transmit it electronically back to the originating office. Electronic charts can easily bring together multiple reports and test results. In addition, they encourage the use of standardized medical terms and abbreviations, which makes it easier for other professionals, such as nurses, to interpret a doctors orders.
