Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and the Use of Medical Transcription Services

Systematize electronic health records with the use of technology.

The impact of technology in the field of medicine goes beyond improved drugs and sophisticated equipment to treat ill patients. Certainly, it has also influenced hospital administration and clinic management.

For people who are involved in private practice and/or working for a medical institution, digital technology has facilitated documentation of a patient's medical history. Installing an electronic health record (EHR) system, however, is quite costly. Thus, many hospitals and clinicians still rely on paper-based records.

With the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) of 2009 still in effect, it is imperative for healthcare providers to adopt an efficient measure to store medical information. If an in-house EHR system is difficult to support, firms that offer medical transcription services can be contracted instead. 

Importance of an EHR System

Aside from promoting a paperless recording of medical data, an EHR system aims to increase the productivity of medical personnel. It also helps provide quality patient care by enabling efficient coordination among doctors and health-related institutions in accessing data.

Other benefits of using health information technology (HIT) via the EHR system include minimizing documentation errors and providing patients accurate records of their health condition. An EHR system likewise allows easy retrieval of such information and prompt advice with regard to treatment. Moreover, it deters repetitive prescription of medical procedures.

Medical transcriptionists help reduce the use of paper-based health records.

Resolving EHR Issues with Medical Transcription Services

In spite of its advantages, the high price of an EHR system may have discouraged physicians, hospital executives, or clinic managers from either using or implementing it. They may have also encountered work flow issues, as well as decreased revenues due to the time they need to spare to learn how to operate the system.

To address EHR system concerns, there are several companies that provide medical transcription services. Using software programs that facilitate management of health data, these establishments recognize how important it is for medical practitioners  to focus on treating and interacting with their patients instead of dealing with administrative tasks.

Medical transcriptionists (MTs) produce a large amount of crucial information for healthcare providers. Such data are based on verbal diagnoses or exchanges between and among doctors. MTs have been trained to accurately document these dictations. They also flag what could be potential mistakes in terms of drug labels, dosages, and conflicting findings. MTs then enable correction of these oversights. Such editing feature makes medical transcription services necessary.