Adoption of electronic health records and barriers

Abstract

Electronic health records (EHR) are not a new idea in the U.S. medical system, but surprisingly there has been very slow adoption of fully integrated EHR systems in practice in both primary care settings and within hospitals. For those who have invested in EHR, physicians report high levels of satisfaction and confidence in the reliability of their system. There is also consensus that EHR can improve patient care, promote safe practice, and enhance communication between patients and multiple providers, reducing the risk of error. As EHR implementation continues in hospitals, administrative and physician leadership must actively investigate all of the potential risks for medical error, system failure, and legal responsibility before moving forward. Ensuring that physicians are aware of their responsibilities in relation to their charting practices and the depth of information available within an EHR system is crucial for minimizing the risk of malpractice and lawsuit. Hospitals must commit to regular system upgrading and corresponding training for all users to reduce the risk of error and adverse events.

Medicine and the rise of the robots: a qualitative review of recent advances of artificial intelligence in health

“…Compared with other industries like hospitality or airlines, health has been a relative slow adopter of electronic systems, such as electronic health record (EHR) systems, which have only recently become mainstream 13. Similarly, although AI is now embedded in many forms of technologies such as smartphones and software, its use in the frontline of clinical practice remains limited.…”

Structuring Clinical Data for Improving Departmental Functionality

“…A need for collecting useful clinical information in the form of structured data has long been recognized in the realm of informatics. Witness the efforts of using pull-downs, radio buttons, and check boxes in electronic health records (EHRs) 1 and using natural language processing (NLP) 2 for this purpose. Yet the workflow of physicians, which often involves writing progress notes and dictating consults and discharge summaries, is often preferred to using screen tools which are provided.…”

Artificial Intelligence for Long-term Respiratory Disease Management

“…Stephen Hawking have done little to help the public perception of AI [32]. Furthermore the notoriously slow uptake of new technology in healthcare [33] may result in the technology being quickly outdated, especially in the context of AI technology changing so rapidly.…”