Good Example Of Essay On Nursing Scholarship Award (Electronic Health Records)

In the contemporary times, the health care organizations are increasingly deploying electronic health record (EHR) systems for the improvement of safety and care quality. An electronic health record is a synchronized and point-of-care information resource. It facilitates clinicians to store and utilize data concerning patients. An EHR is simply characterized as “a longitudinal electronic record of patient health information, produced by encounters in one or more care settings” (as qt in Harrington & Harrington, 2014). The information received from the patients at various encounters in health care settings include list of problems, vital signs, statistical data, medical history, medications, immunization information, laboratory tests and results, and associated data pertaining to patient’s condition.
The EHRs ensures the generation of a comprehensive and detailed electronic documentation of a proven patient encounter. It also highlights activities related to care-giving. These activities involve clinical reporting, quality management and decision-making.  Electronic health records are considered to possess the competency of making tremendous improvements in the health care industry. This revolutionizing system and its appropriate implementation are expected to transform the said industry. In my opinion, EHRs may transform characteristically paper-based system to a technical one. In fact, the introduction and effective utilization of EHRs has the capability to facilitate healthcare providers deliver high quality of care to their patients in a timely manner (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). 
It is not an untold secret that the poor penmanship in healthcare industry has been tainting the medical charts since times unknown. On the other hand, EHRs are the distinctive tools that provide easy accessibility to automated patient-centered records. Electronic health record systems comprise of three very important functionalities. These vital functionalities are Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools, Health Information Exchange (HIE), and Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) systems (Roebuck, 2012). These operation systems improve care-quality and reduction of associated expenses.
CDS system acts as an assistant to the clinicians in health information technology (HIT). It does so by helping them to make apt decisions for the patients. The accessibility to the current data about patient’s health conditions is an undeniable benefit of EHRs. Consequently, patients are provided instantaneous and improved care of quality. The Clinical Decision Support tools also comprises of several additional operational qualities. These include provision of the latest medication/drug information and cross-referencing hypersensitivity to a certain drug. The CDS is a reliable tool. It is because every patient receives the best and safe care in the minimal time. The adoption and implementation of these tools can completely alter the environment in healthcare settings. One can anticipate the avoidance of medical report errors if EHRs are utilized. This radical and innovative state of affairs in the healthcare care industry may ultimately transform the overall performance of healthcare professionals. I strongly believe that EHRs may help physicians and nursing staff to provide patients with well-organized, proficient and safer care (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).
Similarly, Computerized Physician Order Entry enables health care providers to enter a variety of orders into the computerized system. They are not supposed to use pens and papers. This practice may ultimately help them to avoid making severe medical errors due to poor writings. Instead, they are enabled to order physical therapy, psychological consultations, medications, and laboratory tests through computerization. In addition, computerized data readability ensures that pharmacists and nursing staff receive information and confirmation regarding the prescribed medications. Thus, CPOE usage may also transform health care system through the provision of organized, timely, efficient, and competent care. As far as Health Information Exchange is concerned, this system is helpful in the reduction of expensive and unnecessary laboratory tests as information is available straight away (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).
Considering the above-mentioned benefits of electronic health records, it is easy to comprehend that health information technology in the recent times is under an exceptional revolution. This system has completely renovated the interaction of professionals with health-related data. For the same reason, there has been a considerable rise in EHR adoption rates in healthcare settings. As far as nurses are concerned, they have a primary role in EHR adoption since their workflow understanding is rather intimate. An electronic health record’s effectiveness is also reliable on the software’s usability level for clinicians. It is required that usability evaluation is done before the system’s implementation within a hospital or healthcare setting (Rojas & Seckman, 2014).
It is worth-mentioning that every nurse does not possess the knowledge and skill to execute wide-ranging usability testing. For that reason, I consider that the role of informatics nurse specialist becomes a critical one. These specialists may facilitate the nursing staff in understanding the entire process. As mentioned, the fundamental amendments in health information technology are also transforming the clinical practice environment. These changes have motivated innumerable nurses to seek leadership positions in the informatics field. With the advanced sophistication of technology and software, “usability principles must be used under the guidance of the informatics nurse specialist to provide a relevant, robust, and well-designed electronic health record” (Rojas & Seckman, 2014). As far as my opinion is concerned, EHRs use can be positively affected by the nurse leaders as they have the aptitude to create an organizational culture for the efficient and accurate flow of data.

References

Harrington, L., & Harrington, C. (2014). Usability Evaluation Handbook for Electronic Health Records. Chicago, Illinois: HIMMS.
Menachemi, N., & Collum, T. H. (2011). Benefits and Drawbacks of Electronic Health Record Systems. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy 4, 47-55. NCBI. Dove Press. Retrieved March 20, 2015 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3270933/>.
Roebuck, K. (2012). HIE - Health Information Exchange High-impact Strategies - What You Need to Know: Definitions, Adoptions, Impact, Benefits, Maturity, Vendors.Dayboro: Emereo Pub.
Rojas, C., & Seckman, C. (2014). The Informatics Nurse Specialist Role in Electronic Health Record Usability Evaluation. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 32(5), 214-220. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24473121