Running Head: EHR
Module Three Activity: EHR
Nicoletta Serrecchia
Southern New Hampshire University
HIM-500-Q3140
Running Head: EHR
Module Three Activity: EHR
What is EHR?
EHR, which is also known as electronic health records, is a collection of patient data and
demographics through an online system. These systems are implemented in different hospitals.
offices, nursing home, etc. According to Bowie (2019), "Throughout the 1980's, the development
of automated systems was slow, but the vision of electronic record systems was a goal of the
healthcare industry (5-3). Having an EHR system helps eliminate the difficulty of tracking
down patient's previous medical records, and ensures that records are accurate and legible.
What type of information can be found in EHR?
There can be various beneficial information found in EHR systems. For instance, is can
range from including patient demographics, insurance information, medical history, medications,
allergies, immunization records, lab test results, radiology images, vital signs, billing
information, emergency contacts, etc. One great thing about EHR systems is all staff members
have access to all patient records. So, no matter which medical office you are in or if you become
inpatient at a hospital, the group that you are affiliated with will be able to have access to those
records. For example, I worked for Danbury Hospital's Infectious Disease office. Our office was
affiliated with Danbury Hospital so we all shared the same EHR system, along with the rest of
the network.
Who manages an EHR?
An EHR system is managed by the Information Governance Principles for Healthcare
(IGPHC). According to Bowie (2019), "The data and information that are created and managed
in healthcare organizations are only of value if they are managed in an organized strategic
fashion" (5-7). That is why the American Health Information Management Associated (AHIMA),
Running Head: EHR
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had developed the IGPHC. It is noted that there are 8 principles that should govern the
management of information in healthcare organizations, and they are as followed:
Principle of Accountability
Principle of Transparency
Principle of Integrity
Principle of Compliance
Principle of Availability
Principle of Retention
Principle of Disposition
(Bowie, 2019, 5-7)
How is it used?
EHR is used numerous ways. It can be used as a form of communication between
providers about a certain patient, a form of communication from patient to provider, it can be a
way of other providers in the network getting medical records on mutual patients. From an
administrative standpoint, it can be used for registration purposes. For instance, finding out
insurance info, taking payments, verifying demographics and so on. For nurses, it can be used for
monitoring vital signs, and finding out patient's allergies and medications.
If patient's arrive with records from an outside facility, staff members can scan those
forms into the patient's record for the doctor to see. This is beneficial for obtaining records from
other facilities and to have a secure and easily accessed record. "Document scanning affords
healthcare facilities the ability to move away from paper-based medical record system" (Bowie.
2019, 5-3a).
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