Electronic Medical Records

Electronic Medical Records

In nursing practice, professionals need to have as much medical information as possible regarding their patients. The technologically-developed tool, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), has improved service provision within health care. Nurses require the medical history of patients, information quick to get with the EMR. With quick access to the information, nurses can make fast and reasonable decisions regarding their patients. It is important that nurses have a comprehensive understanding of the health history of their patients with optimal efficiency. For instance, information on the previous medical procedures that a patient has undergone is crucial. The nurses also need to know how their patients respond to certain medications. Nurses evaluate the information on the EMR screen to formulate the best plans for patient care. Having the relevant information enables nurses to avoid disasters and use the most appropriate means of care provision. EMR allow nurses access relevant information in thetime leading to quick and quality patient care. In most cases, nursing assistance is based on the information at hand regarding the patients. With as much information as possible, nurses are less likely to commit errors in their service delivery. In most cases, nursing care is required with urgency. Nursing services, therefore,requires a reliable source of information that would not delay care provision. On an EMR screen, most of the relevant information is displayed. The kits offer a means of storing as much patient information as possible. Nurses have in the recent past embraced the tool and use it to get information such as laboratory results, prescriptions and specialistconsultations (BROOKS, 2011, Pg. 3). EMR ensure that such information is readily available for the nurses. EMR displaysinformation in a way that overcomes the limitations of the previous paperwork methods. Brooks (2011) noted that the too much paperwork, as opposed to the EMR, faced such shortcomings as misplacement of files, tearing of papers and poor handling of essential data (Pg. 3).

The screenshot below highlights the contents on a typical EMR screen.

On the EMR, personal information regarding the patient such as name and age. Other particulars include financial and insurance status of the patient. Among others, the two are a must for high-quality nursing attendance. With such information, nurses can offer care that is satisfactory to the patients. In nursing practice, the information allows nurses to understand the level of care they should give to different patients. Age of the patient, for instance,enables nurses to offer services with more efficiency as nurses can group patients according to their age. Again, different ages require varied care and assistance. On the other hand, financial and insurance information is necessary so that nurses can offer advice to patients who may require it.In some cases, the sick may not be able to access advanced treatment due to financial limitations, and in such situations, nurses could advise the patients on the most appropriate plans they should seek. Information on the EMR screen rarely changes and can, therefore, be referred for a period.

On this screenshot, the information that requires revision includes the name of the facility attended by the patient, the reference code for the case and the patient’s residence. Such information would enable nurses to track patient’s history with more efficiency. The information would also facilitate consultations between nurses and other relevant professionals. To make the correction, nurses can communicate with the involved professionals to feed in the missing data into the patient’s EMR system. Having the information provided would benefit not only the nurses, but also the patients, doctors, and pharmacists. Patient care will be improved if health care professionals have as much information as possible regarding their patients.

Reference

BROOKS, R. (2011). Embracing EMR: Advance for Nurses. Retrieved May 16, 2015 from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Columns/Nursing-Informatics/Embracing-EMR.aspx