The impact on EHR’s on Healthcare Facilities/Doctors Now That They
Have Been Implemented
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) have been around for close to ten years. Incentives were
designed to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) systems for providers.
EHRs and the ability to exchange health information electronically was to help provide higher quality
and safer are for patients while create efficiencies for providers and managing patient care.
Advantages of Electronic Health Records
o Providing accurate, up-to-date, and complete information about patients at the point of care
o Enabling quick access to patient records for more coordinated, efficient care
o Securely sharing electronic information with patients and other clinicians
o Helping providers more effectively diagnose patients, reduce medical errors, and provide safer
care
o Improving patient and provider interaction and communication, as well as health care
convenience
o Enabling safer, more reliable prescribing
o Helping promote legible, complete documentation and accurate, streamlined coding and billing
o Enhancing privacy and security of patient data
o Helping providers improve productivity and work-life balance
o Enabling providers to improve efficiency and meet their business goals
o Reducing costs through decreased paperwork, improved safety, reduced duplication of testing,
and improved health.
Other Advantages
Transformed Health Care
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are the first step to transformed health care. The benefits of electronic
health records include:
o Better health care by improving all aspects of patient care, including safety, effectiveness,
patient-centeredness, communication, education, timeliness, efficiency, and equity.
o Better health by encouraging healthier lifestyles in the entire population, including increased
physical activity, better nutrition, avoidance of behavioral risks, and wider use of preventative
care.
o Improved efficiencies and lower health care costs by promoting preventative medicine and
improved coordination of health care services, as well as by reducing waste and redundant
tests.
o Better clinical decision making by integrating patient information from multiple sources.
Meaningful Use
One of the best ways to ensure you take full advantage of the benefits of electronic health records is to
achieve meaningful use. By achieving meaningful use, you can reap benefits beyond financial incentives.
Most patients are, by now, used to seeing their health care providers put notes into a computer during office visits.
Although the shift from paper-based to digital systems has taken much longer for the healthcare industry than others,
U.S. hospitals and clinical practices were given a boost in adopting electronic records as part of the 2009 Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Act set the goal of improving
overall patient care by providing clinicians timely access to all the information they need for better diagnoses and
patient outcomes.
As of 2014, 76 percent of U.S. hospitals had already adopted a basic electronic health record (EHR) keeping system1.
But for hospitals and clinics to take full advantage of the benefits that electronic records can provide, they must move
beyond just inputting basic patient information into systems where that information becomes a critical part of
managing patient care at all levels. By transitioning to a fuller EHR model, clinicians and patients can expect to
