Heidemarie T Bigham

Professor Adam Padgett

UWRT-1101-094
April 6, 2015
Medical Care and Technology
Technology is playing a major role in todays society. Everywhere you
look technology is involved somehow. It is starting to take over everyday life.
Technology is not just computers, cell phones, and IPads, but the things you
can do on them. In todays society, easy and convenient seems to the key
way to get peoples attention. People want the fastest and quickest way to
get something done. Technology has introduced the concept of electronic
copies. You can type something into a database and have the ability to
access it from anywhere. This is where the medical field has begun to turn to
technology. Doctors offices and Hospitals are using this technology to their
advantage. They are now using Electronic Medical Records instead of having
patients information written on a file. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are
legal documents created in healthcare environments are fundamental
components (data) of an Electronic Health Record. Electronic Medical
Records, provide easy access to patient information, enables doctors to
check on patients from afar, and decreases the chances of
miscommunication.
Now when a patient goes to the doctors, all their information is stored
on a computer database. The patients medical history, list of medications,

and all other information are put into the database. The Harvard Health
Letter entitled, Technology and your Health: A quick-start guide, states that
in 2014 it was estimated that around 50% of doctors were using the system.
This number is expected to grow in the next few years. As more doctors and
hospitals convert to this system, it ends up benefiting the patient. The
patient now has access to an online web portal. On this web portal they can
view all their test results, medications, and they can even talk to the doctor.
Patients can even schedule appointments without the hassle of having to call
the office. Patients can use the online web portal to their advantage, by
using it as a source to keep up with their own health records.

Doctors able to check on patients from afar.

Decrease chances of miscommunication. The move to Electronic
Medical Records was not simply to keep up with society. The changes were
spurred in part by a 1998 Institute of Medicine study which concluded that
medical mistakes kill 98,000 patients each year in the United States
(Alexander). By using Electronic Medical Records and prescription ordering
systems, The Institute of Medicine predicts the number of medical mistakes
will decrease. By simply just using the prescription ordering system, there is
a significant decrease in miscommunication. The ordering system shows
availability of a fully electronic prescribing history, and improvement in
legibility and completeness of prescriptions(Goundrey-Smith). The system
increases accuracy of information.

Patient safety, HIPAA. HIPAA requires simplification of the

administration of health care coverage and discusses federal health care
program fraud and abuse prevention (Steward). HIPAAs Administrative
Simplification sections outline a process for protecting the privacy of health
information. These sections address the necessary criteria for standardizing
electronic transmission of health information, by focusing on the need to
protect security, integrity, and authenticity of health information (Steward).
HIPAA put into place 3 major tools to protect patients Electronic Records.
Access control tools like passwords and PIN numbers; to help limit access to
your information to authorized individuals (HIPAA). Encrypting your stored
information; that means your health information cannot be read or understood except by those using a system that can decrypt it with a key
(HIPAA). An audit trail feature, which records who accessed your
information, what changes were made and when (HIPAA). These have been
put into place to protect the patients confidentiality, even when their
information is being stored in a web database. Just because doctors easily
access the information, does not mean it is not closely monitored.

Transferring to use of Electronic Medical Records to keep up

with society.

Works Cited
"Technology And Your Health: A Quick-Start Guide." Harvard Health Letter 40.2 (2014):
1-7. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
Alexander, Jeff. "Scrapping the Paper - Hospital spends millions to
computerize i-Subhead:
Hospital spends millions to computerize its
records." Muskegon Chronicle, The (MI) 22 Mar. 2005, D: 1. NewsBank.
Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
Goundrey-Smith, Stephen. Principles of Electronic Prescribing. London: Springer,
2012. Internet
resource.

Steward, M. "Electronic Medical Records: Privacy, Confidentiality, Liability."

Journal Of Legal Medicine 26.4 (2005): 491-506. CINAHL Plus with Full Text.
Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
HIPAA: Privacy, Security, and Electronic Health Records (n.d.): n. pag. U.S.
Department of
Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Web. 7
Apr. 2015.