The Electronic Health Record (EHR) & Digital Technologies in Health

Question 1

What are EARs

Answer 1

Electronic Health Record
* digital version of paper charts
* contains the medical and treatment history of patients

Question 2

Use of EARs?

Answer 2

1. allow clinicians to track data over time and easily identify which patients are due for preventive screenings (check-ups) - Patient reminders
2. Health Information & data management
3. Order mangement and prescription templates
4. Results management
5. Decision-support functionality
6. Communication & connectivity
7. monitor and improve overall quality of care - provide patient support
8. focus on the entire health of the patient (capability of patient-shared care planning)
9. Administrative processes
10. Reporting (print email)

Question 3

What is History of the health record?

Answer 3

Earliest medical records:
- Paper based
- Physician oriented (used own file about a patient)
- Mostly observations

~1960s:
- Time-oriented (chronologically)
- Department-oriented (or problem oriented)
- Problem-oriented (divided into sections) (Weed , 1969)

1980/90s: increased effort 2009-2017: push in implementations

• Today mixture of patient-oriented (allow more people to use the record ) & problem-oriented
• Worst cases hybrid approach is still present

Question 4

What is the content of the EAR?

Answer 4

Each patient has one record Documentation is critical
EHRs contain:
* Health Information
* Administrative information
* (Legal) Documents
* Clinical information

Question 5

What is the clinical info in the EHR?

Answer 5

Clinical Information:
* Medication lists
* Allergy lists
* Laboratory reports (lab results)
* Pathology reports (image data)
* Immunisation records
* Surgical reports
* Hospital records (with patient meaurements)
* Radiology reports
* Notes (clinical notes)

Question 6

What are the advantages of the EAR?

Answer 6

• Improved documentation
• Efficient and effective care
• Easier accessibility (point of care)
• “Better security”
• Patient and MProf satisfaction
• Improved quality of care (disease management & preparedness)

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of the EAR?

Answer 7

• Security issues
• Employee resistance
• Cost of implementation very high (large investments)
• Implementation takes time
• Lack of connectivity & interoperability
• Usability issues affect users negatively
  management & preparedness)
• Usability issues cause human errors

Question 8

What technolgies has been buit upon EHR?

Answer 8

AI
- Data is trapped in EHR and not AI ready
- affect of drugs on patients - use of AI
- increasing intreast/use of AI
- AI/ML for healthcare: Biomedicaol image analysis
- use AI to mointor patient measuremens
- use AI mointering patients to form text summaries: clinical notes and lab results
- - link data stored from millions of patients to answer clinical questions
-records your speach and adds to clinicans resulrs
you and more sensor dadta: Fitbit,apple watch, phone - can be added to EAR

Question 9

What the difficulties and concerns current EHR brings?

Answer 9

• EHR data is avaliable everywhere anytime for stakeholders
• Alert (Popup) fatigue- too may popups in gp system
• LIMITED COMPETITION > STAGNATING INNOVATION - limited providers means things are not being improved
• Privacy and security - must be secured
• Ethical considerations
• Trustwothness, accountability and explainability

Question 10

What are future technologies surrounding EHR?

Answer 10

• Stakeholders will be able to take full advantage of EHR capabilities!
• They are NOT frustrated (nurses, clinicians, vendors, etc)
• EHRs are not a glorified billing tool!
• Data in EHRs is no longer trapped and ”AI READY”
• Interaction between medical professionals and patients truly enable the type of analytics to transform healthcare (answer incredibly complex questions)
• Perhaps using the EHR as an ecosystem – surrounding it with systems to support it
• need less data points to get accurate data
• can detect heart failutrr - more accurate