by
EMSBLOG Editor
July 27, 2012
Are physicians satisfied with the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in their offices? In most cases, yes, as a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently determined.
In fact, more than half of physicians surveyed in 2011 said they had already adopted EHR technology in their practices, a majority of whom were very or somewhat satisfied with their systems. Another half of physicians said that their EHR systems were good enough to purchase again.
Physicians are seeing the benefits of EHRs in and out of the office. EHR use leads to reduced cost of care through the elimination of duplicate tests and greater coordination between specialists. EHRs also prevent errors as healthcare providers are more easily able to cross-reference patient history. EHRs also enhance patient care by alerting administrators to the presence of possible drug conflicts or errors, and expediting the alert process for clinical lab results. And because records can be accessed remotely, EHRs make it possible for patients to receive care beyond office hours or when their physicians aren't on site.
Expect expansion of the trend: if the US Department of Health and Human Services has its way, EHRs use will become even more widespread in offices and hospitals. As part of the 2009 Recovery Act, care providers are now encouraged to adopt the technology and meet meaningful use requirements, with eligible practices receiving Medicare and/or Medicaid incentive payments. Over 3k hospitals and 119k professionals had already received incentive for using EHRs as of June 2012.
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How can the healthcare providers of tomorrow meet the needs of an evolving system? By training on simulated (or academic) EHRs before they start practicing in a clinical environment. Education institutions that integrate simulated EHRs into their curricula give their learners a clear advantage in the job market. Students who experience EHR use prior to entering a real-life clinical setting will have reduced on the job EHR training, and make fewer errors when entering data into the real EHR, marketable assets that place them at the top of candidate lists. Read more about simulated EHRs by downloading the whitepaper
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