The PC age and the Internet have made a lot of things possible – including the adoption of electronic medical record systems. But are there any advantages of having access to an electronic medical record as a doctor? In fact there are several benefits to being able to electronically access medical records as a doctor.
Rapid Prescription Transfer – It’s a basic part of the practice of medicine – doctor handwriting illegibility. Funny as it sounds (and it doesn’t affect every practitioner, of course), this is a huge problem across North America. With an electronic medical record system, however, unlike handwritten prescriptions, there is little to no chance of incorrect prescriptions or dosage. Doctors will also have to take fewer calls regarding prescriptions, which adds up when it comes to patient time.
Web Based Laboratory Results – Waiting for couriers and telephone calls for test results has until now been a very necessary, albeit painful part of the medical doctor’s schedule. Meanwhile, patients call again and again to try to find out their test results, taking valuable minutes from your medical assistants. However, by allowing patients to get their test results electronically (a benefit many robust electronic medical record systems include), much time and effort is saved.
EMR Mobility – One of the clear benefits of an electronic medical record system is that the doctor (and the patient) has access to important medical history and records from wherever they access the web. Helping patients from distant locations is now possible, and doctors in other areas can be given complete and secure access from wherever they are. The patient benefits the most here, as the simple access to their details will ensure their treatment is very unlikely to be wrong.
Information About Prescriptions – The final advantage of medical records on the web is that they are great for prescriptions. They help with revealing any dangerous interactions with the pills that a patient might be taking before they cause an issue.
Minimizing drug interactions is certainly a major benefit to adopting an electronic medical record system, but overall expense savings are the main advantage. Insurance companies and HMOs, as an example, have taken to EMR systems because it helps them to cut costs. Generic drugs and alternative treatments can be offered up, which can save all participants a lot of money.
The entire diagnosis and patient interaction process can be totally redefined by a well designed and adopted EMR software system. By providing better communication between the practitioner and patient and insurance company and doctor, massive savings can be achieved by the Healthcare industry. No longer is communication an issue with lab results and prescriptions. Suddenly, treating a patient that is quite far from your practice doesn’t seem like such an unlikely scenario. With full electronic medical record system adoption, the United States Healthcare system will benefit, and those benefits are starting now.
In the end, an electronic medical record system is about using technology to maximize efficiency and communication effectiveness. The US Government saw that paying for EMR systems was critical not only to economic balance, but to the safety of the healthcare system in general. Electronic medical record systems do their job well – for everybody.

