Electronic Medical Records Essay.

Maintaining patient confidentiality is one of the biggest concerns when dealing with EMR. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was implemented in 2003 to set a national standard for privacy of health information. Under this policy, the right of the patients to have access to their own medical records was also established (Privacy Rights Clearing House, 2009). There are several preliminary cautions a patient or providers can take to limit others from accessing medical records.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

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Such actions are the patient can discuss confidentiality concerns with his or her physician, ask health care providers to use caution when photocopying any documents pertaining to a patient’s health record, and a patient should keep a copy of their own medical record incase his or her physician retires or goes out of business. Following these actions can alleviate any stress a patient may have concerning the confidentiality of their records and can ensure that patient records do not get in the wrong hands.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

Effective Means of Communication Between Consumers and Providers There are several reasons EMR is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers. One particular reason is that it has the potential to enhance communications and collaborations between healthcare providers and patients. Furthermore, EMR will provide patients secure and confidential access to their own medical records and other important information’s pertaining to their health condition; which can initiate more informed health care decisions.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

In addition, when patients can easily access EMR through a secure portal, patients are more apt to maintain and manage their own medical records and are more willing to comply with treatment plans. EMR versus Paper Records EMR differs from other modes of communication, such as paper records because it has the potential to store large amount of data for a longer periods of time by using less office space. Moreover, EMR can be accessible instantaneously from a remote location by several people at the same time (Gurley, 2004).

In addition, patient information’s can never be lost, out or misfiled, which can ease the workflow of all health care workers. In comparison, paper records are often illegible, incomplete, or unavailable when and where they are needed. “They also lack any type of active decision-support capability and make data collection and analysis very cumbersome,” (Glaser, Wager, & Wickam-Lee, 2005, p. 112). This passive role for the medical record will no longer suffice in today’s health care environment.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

Health care providers need access to active tools that will enable them decision support capabilities and have access to the most current health care information’s. How Might Media and Social Networking Change Communication in Health Care? The media and social networking has changed communication in health care because today, consumers are now able to follow real time health conference, develop a health story, and search and share health information using the internet (The Conversational Convention, 2010).

There are several social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube—that have played an important part of the health care communications plan. Many health care facilities are now using the mentioned social media tools to disseminate health care issues to consumers and to build a patient-physician relationship. By using social media tools, it can help to bring accurate health information to many people at the same time. For instance, an emergency message about an outbreak can be spread more quickly by using social media tools to warn consumers about the virus.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

How is this Mode of Communication Used to Market Health Care Products or Services? According to a study conducted (National Association of Chain Drug Stores, (2007), the usage of EMR for marketing could be argued that the using health care provider is able to work faster and cheaper; yet, this is no longer applicable. This study was collaborated in 2007, long before the governmental mandate of EMR usage for all providers who seek reimbursement of Medicare claims (Data Net, 2008).

That being said, new marketing strategies for the usage of EMR have proven difficult to find articles via the internet. Some unsupported ideas could be marketing on the ease of visits and ease of claims for patients; and accuracy and security of a particularly used system over competitors. Conclusion EMR has been an important asset in today’s health care environment. EMR has the potential to provide physicians with decision support capabilities and have access to knowledge resources, reminders, and alerts, which can essentially reduce medical errors and improve quality and safety of patients.

The intent of this paper was to provide one benefit of EMR from a patient’s perspective as well as one aspect relating to values and importance of maintaining patient confidentiality when using EMR. Furthermore, this paper has discussed one particular reason how EMR can be an effective means of communication between providers and patients, and how EMR communication differs from other communication method. Finally, this paper has discussed how media and social networking has changed communication in health care and how EMR has been used to market health care products and services.Electronic Medical Records Essay.

References

Data Net. (2008). Latest Government Quick pack. Retrieved from http://www. datanetsolutions. org/government. aspx Dr. Crounse, B. (2005, November 22). Electronic medical records: The right medicine for an ailing healthcare system. Retrieved from http://www. microsoft. com/industry/healthcare/ providers/businessvalue/housecalls/emr. mspx Gurley, L. (2004). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Electronic Medical Record. Retrieved from http://www. aameda. org/MemberServices/Exec/Articles/spg04/Gurley%20article. pdf National Association of Chain Drug Stores, (2007). Retail Pharmacy and EMR. Retrieved from http://www. acdsfoundation. org/user- assets/Documents/PDF/Research/Retail_Pharmacy_and_the_EMR. pdf Privacy Rights Clearing House. (2009, November). Medical Records Privacy. Retrieved from http://www. privacyrights. org/fs/fs8-med. htm The Conversational Convention, (2010, April 08). Social media, a strategic tool for healthcare Communication. Retrieved from http://conversationalcorporation. wordpress. com/2010/04/08/social-media-a-strategic- tool-for-healthcare-communication/ Wager, K. A. , Lee, F. W. , & Glaser, J. P. (2005). Managing health care information systems: A practical approach for health care executives. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Electronic Medical Records Essay.