WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS?

Handling medical records electronically has many benefits over the older paper counterparts.
Providers can more easily track data over time and this tracking is often automated.
The ability to track this information is important in many situations, including if a doctor wants to identify how a patient is responding to a particular type of treatment.
Electronic records can also help identify patients who might be due for preventive visits and screenings.

They also take up less physical space, and since real estate is expensive, this can save a practice money, or provide them with an area that can serve another valuable purpose other than storage.

Even with all the benefits of electronic records, there can be a learning curve.
“If a practice has been on paper it’s entire existence, their relationship with electronic health records is very different”.
Established physicians who have only used paper and are not comfortable with technology might have a more difficult time adopting electronic records than a new doctor who has grown up with technology.

Additionally, if an established physician wants to sell a practice, there must be electronic records — not paper , adding that paper practices just don’t sell. Electronic records also allow physicians to enter orders for tests automatically and write prescriptions without prescription pads.