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Digitising health records is it really going to be helpful?

September 6th, 2009

I hear again and again all the positives about eHealthcare, it’s seems to be the only way to go, which is why I’ve found this OA paper asking a very interesting question “Do Electronic Health Records Help or Hinder Medical Education?” and I wonder in the same way will electronic health records help or hinder (my) medical anaylsis in the future?
Photo Credit: JasonRogersFooDogG iraffeBee's photostream on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/restlessglobetrotter/
It is becoming clear that hospitals are implementing, and in some ways are being forced to implement massive electronic health record (EHR) systems, but in this implementation are they considering the end user …. sorry I should say patients needs, wants and cares in its implementation? And what about the people entrying the data from admin staff to nurses to doctors, are their needs being considered?
On similar massive projects it simply hasn’t been the case and I do wonder!
So to the powers that be, please note the authors conclusion when it comes to the educational side of using EHR

that the mere presence of the EHR will not improve practice quality, and will not make education better or more efficient ………
………. if the EHR is used as a tool rather than an end unto itself, it will improve our education of young physicians as well as the care of our patients.