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The modernization of medical practices had been a priority for many. From new medicines to new technologies which aims to improve healthcare services in different healthcare institutions. A popular example of such technology is the electronic medical records or EMR. What is an EMR? EMR or Electronic Medical Record is a computerized medical record developed and introduced for the use of different healthcare institutions, such as in hospitals. It aims to minimize the process of storing, retrieving, and modifying of medical records. However, there are other more important benefits of using an EMR, such as a podiatry emr, other than just for storing and modifying medical records. Important Benefits There are other reasons why EMR was developed. One of those is that it aims to eliminate medical errors normally associated with the use of paper-based medical records. Eliminating Medical Errors According to medical experts, though paper-based is still widely used and preferred by many healthcare providers, such as doctors and nurses, there is still a disadvantage to the use of this method. One of those is the occurrence of medical errors. Handwritten paper medical records can be associated with poor legibility, which can contribute to medical errors. Pre-printed forms, the standardization of abbreviations, and standards for penmanship were encouraged to improve reliability of paper medical records. Electronic records help with the standardization of forms, terminology and abbreviations, and data input. Digitization of forms facilitates the collection of data for epidemiology and clinical studies. In addition to that, the use of paper-based medical records, though as easy as they are for the doctor to record medical data at the point of care, it still requires significant amount of storage space compared to digital records. In the US, most states require physical records be held for a minimum of seven years. The costs of storage media, such as paper and film, per unit of information differ dramatically from that of electronic storage media. Improving Healthcare Services Another advantage of using an EMR system is with its decision support capability. According to experts, fast access to medical literature and current best practices in medicine are hypothesized to enable proliferation of ongoing improvements in healthcare efficacy. Information Technology is being used today to automate day-to-day processes, thus helping to reduce administration costs which then in turn can free up time and money for patient care.
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podiatry EMR, electronic medical records,
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