|
| |
 |
|
| LETTER TO EDITOR |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 10
| Issue : 1 | Page : 48-49 |
|
Health-care system digitalization – Implementation of electronic health record
Shweta Kapote1, Srikanth Pallerla2
1 Department of Dental Health Sciences, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, Maharashtra, India
2 Department of Psychiatric Social Work, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| Date of Submission | 18-Feb-2022 |
| Date of Decision | 04-Apr-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 07-Jun-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 22-Aug-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Mr. Srikanth Pallerla
Department of Psychiatric Social Work, NIMHANS, Hosur Main Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jihs.jihs_3_22
How to cite this article:
Kapote S, Pallerla S. Health-care system digitalization – Implementation of electronic health record. J Integr Health Sci 2022;10:48-9 |
How to cite this URL:
Kapote S, Pallerla S. Health-care system digitalization – Implementation of electronic health record. J Integr Health Sci [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 10];10:48-9. Available from: https://www.jihs.in/text.asp?2022/10/1/48/354229 |
Dear Editor,
The advent of information technology and its impact on all sectors, including health care, has expedited this requirement in the face of the ever-increasing issues that health care faces today. The health-care industry has joined the sphere of technology breakthroughs to establish a consistent system for hospitals and health-care providers across the country to maintain electronic medical records/electronic health records (EMRs/EHRs). The health system can be strengthened by using digital technologies.
Digitalization of health records in public health facilities, as well as easy access to them in the form of electronic records anywhere, at any time, is still in fragmented stages and yet to be implemented in developing countries such as India and others. India employs a variety of approaches to managing patient health information. The majority of the documentation is on paper. The disadvantage of manual documentation is that it not only takes time to capture but also makes it impossible to transfer patient data in a real-time manner. Some secondary and tertiary care facilities, on the other hand, have started adopting health-care information technology applications such as hospital management information system, hospital information system, EMRs, and so on to manage patient data in electronic format. However, these systems are developed by a variety of vendors using different programming languages and databases. As a result, sharing patient information with another health-care provider remains a challenging task.[1]
EHR is a well-documented record of a patient's official medical history, behavioral, environmental, treatment records, and overall patient's profile that can be utilized to protect against malpractice, regulatory action, or an ethics complaint. An EHR is a real-time, one-of-a-kind longitudinal health record of a single person that contains all of his or her personal health information in a digital format, including medical information such as medical history, medical examination, diagnosis, laboratory results, allergies, immunization details, treatment, and so on. Interoperability or the capacity of computer systems to use and interchange information is a crucial component of electronic records.
There are numerous advantages to collecting medical records, including enhanced and evidence-based care, progressively more accurate and rapid diagnosis leading to superior cure at lower costs of care, unnecessary investigations could be avoided, advanced analytics such as prognostic analytics for preventive clinical care, health policy decisions on highlighted issues, and so on. The availability and accessibility of patient information can help with the continuity of treatment, improved health outcomes, and enhanced decision support anywhere and everywhere. EHR at all levels of the health-care system enables patients to receive efficient and continuous care.[2]
Accessibility, translucency, obtainability, scalability, replicability, interoperability, privacy, security, and confidentiality should all be considered when developing it. Medical records can only be shared if a set of predefined standards for data capture, storage, retrieval, exchange, and analytics is in place, which includes pictures, clinical codes, and data, so standardization of EHR is crucial. Appropriate information and technology infrastructure is needed. Digital health can have a significant impact on health outcomes if sufficient investment is made in governance, institutional, and workforce capacity to enable the changes in digital systems, data use, training, planning, and management that is required as health systems and services become more digitalized.[3] The development of a skilled health and technological workforce has the potential to revolutionize the health industry. EHRs and digitalization in the health-care industry can have a favorable impact on public health and research, leading to advancements in the health sector.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nill.
Conflict of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Pai MM, Ganiga R, Pai RM, Sinha RK. Standard electronic health record (EHR) framework for Indian healthcare system. Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol 2021;21:339-62.  |
| 2. | Sharma SK, Mantri MD, Sunder G. Mental health in digital India-EHR perspective. Int J Curr Res Rev 2021;13:169-71. |
| 3. | |
|
Search Pubmed for