ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues

Module07WrittenAssignment:ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues
KailanBragado
RasmussenCollege

AuthorNote
ThispaperisbeingsubmittedonApril15,2016,forMedicalLawandEthicscourse.

ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues

Technologyhasalwayshadanimpactinhealthcare,however,nowithasbeencreating
someissuesinthisfield.EMR,ElectronicMEdicalRecords,isaspecificformoftechnology
impactingourhealthcare.Essentiallythemainissueswithphysiciansandhealthcareproviders
usingEMRsisthecosttoprovideit,thepresenceofdatainaccuracies,anditsavailability.
ThemainissuewithinphysiciansusingEMRistheinitialcostforthisprogram.
Accordingtoastudycreatedthisyear:ahealthcareanalystwasabletofindtheaveragecost
physiciansandhealthcareorganizationshavespentonEMRs.AsofMay2015,theCentersfor
MedicareandMedicaidServices(CMS)hadpaidmorethan$30billioninfinancialincentivesto
morethan468,000MedicareandMedicaidprovidersforimplementingEMRsystems(ONeill,
2015).Thisnewformofrecordsareveryexpensiveandrequirephysicianstobefamiliarwith
inputtingdatafortheirpatients.Furthermore,sincetechnologyisupgradingfasterthanmanycan
processithasbecomeahugeissuethathealthcareprovidersarespendingmoneyonstayingupto
dateontheserecords.Manyoftheseprovidersarealsonoticingincreasedincostovertheyears.
ResearchbyDavidDranove,etal,analyzinghospitalsusingEMRsystemsfrom19962009,
foundthattheseearlyadopters,onaverage,hadincreasedcosts,atleastforthefirstthreeyears
afteradoption(ONeill,2015).ThecostofhavingEMRsinhealthcarefacilitiesisneeded
becauseoftheclearorganizationitcreates,yetitisveryexpensiveandmaycausemany
providerstohavehigherpaymentsthanintheyearspreviously.Thepossiblesolutionthatcould
bedoneistodecreasethecostsoftheusingEMRs,however,becausetechnologyisvery
importantnowadaysthereisnosurewaytomaketheserecordscostlessforhealthcareproviders.
OneotherissuethatisassociatedwiththecostofEMRsistheunreliabilityofhaving
protection.EMRs,becausetheyarecompletedthroughtechnology,canbebreachedallowing

ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues

patientsrecordstobeinpublic.Thiscanthenleadtopatientslosingtrustinthehealthcare
facility,andthecostofEMRsmaycauseissuesforhealthcareproviders.Therehavebeencases
onincidentsinwhichencryptionoftheEMRshasbeencompletedandotherswereableto
obtainapatient'srecords.Awomanwhowasworkingatthehospitalhadgainaccesstothe
recordsandwasabletouseencryptiontofigureoutthepassword.Shewasthenprosecutedfor
thisviolationunderHIPAA.Certainprocedureswerethencreatedinordertoensurethatthis
eventwouldneveroccur.Securitymeasuressuchasfirewalls,antivirussoftware,andintrusion
detectionsoftwaremustbeincludedtoprotectdataintegrity.Specificpoliciesandprocedures
servetomaintainpatientprivacyandconfidentiality.Forexample,employeesmustnotshare
theirIDwithanyone,alwayslogoffwhenleavingaterminalandusetheirownIDtoaccess
patientdigitalrecords.Asecurityofficermustbedesignatedbytheorganizationtoworkwitha
teamofhealthITexperts(Ozair,2015).ThisisonesolutiontosolvingtheissuewithEMRs
havingthereputationofbeingunreliable:creatingtheseregulationswillthencreateasafer
environmentfornotonlythepatientsbutthephysicians.Anothersolutiontothisproblemisto
makeweeklyregulationsonwhoandforhowlongothersinchargeoftheserecordsareonfor,
andtomonitoriftheyareaccessinginformationtheyareallowedtoaccess.
ThelastknownissuewithEMRsinhealthcareisitsavailabilitytomanyhealthcare
providers.Mostruralareasarelimitedtothisformofmedicalrecords,andthiscouldcausea
issueswithorganizationandefficiency.Thereasonstowhythisareainparticularhasa
disadvantageisbecauseofthecostwhichleadstothelossofupgradedtechnology.Rural
hospitalsareconstantlyplayingcatchup.TheyhavelimitedbudgetsandlimitedITstaffs.
(SouthernInyodidn'thaveasingleITstafferuntilafewyearsago.)TheirEHRsystemsaren'tas

ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues

mature(Rudansky,2013).Sincethesehospitalsareunabletoreceivethisformofmedical
recordsthiscreatesanotherissueforEMRsinregardstothecostanditsavailability.Although,
theseruralhospitalsareunabletoobtainEMRstheycanstilluseotherformsofrecordsorlook
forfundingopportunities.ThereistheTheFederalCommunicationsCommissions
Rural
HealthCareProgram
providesfundingtoeligiblehealthcareprovidersfortelecommunications
services,includingbroadband,necessaryfortheprovisionofhealthcare(HealthInformation
Technology,2013).Thisprogram,amongothers,canbeagreatalternativesincethesehospitals
willreceivefinancialhelptobeuptodatewithtechnologywhilestayingorganizedwith
patientsrecords.
TheseissuesassociatedwithEMRsintermsofcost,databreaches,andavailability
cannotbe100%eliminated.Sincetechnologyisconstantlyupgradingthecostforhavingthese
formsoftechnologyisalsoincreasing.Thepopularityoftechnologywillalwayskeeptheprices
fortheseformsoftechhigh.Thiswillalsobethesamewithtechnologyinregardstothe
healthcarefield.Costsfornewformsofmachinesandrecordswillbehighbecauseofthecallfor
theseformsoftechnologyneededinthesefacilities.Alsotechnologyhasitsconsbecauseitis
veryvulnerableandeasytobehackedbyoutsideparties.InregardstoEMRscostsitcanstill
becomeadisadvantageforruralcommunitiesbecausetheyareunabletoaffordtheseformsof
technologythatareneeded.Overalltheseissuescannotbe100%eliminatedbecausetechnology
willalwayshaveahighprice,ruralcommunitiesstillsufferfromfinancialrelatedissues,andthe
vulnerabilityoftechnology.

ElectronicMedicalRecordIssues

WorkCited

HealthInformationTechnology.(2013,January15).HealthIT.gov.RetrievedApril15,
2016,from
https://www.healthit.gov/providersprofessionals/faqs/whatavailablehealthitresourcesarespe
cificruralcommunities

O'Neill,T.(2015,August5).AreElectronicMedicalRecordsWorththeCostsof
Implementation?AAF.RetrievedApril15,2016,from
http://www.americanactionforum.org/research/areelectronicmedicalrecordsworththecostsof
implementation/

Ozair,F.F.,Jamshed,N.,Sharma,A.,&Aggarwal,P.(2015,April/May).Ethicalissues
inelectronichealthrecords:Ageneraloverview.RetrievedApril15,2016,from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394583/

Rudansky,A.K.(2013,November18).EHRAdoptionAStruggleForRuralHospitals
InformationWeek.RetrievedApril15,2016,from
http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/electronichealthrecords/ehradoptionastrugglef
orruralhospitals/d/did/899849