Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
This paper is aimed at discussing the factors that can hinder the adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems (EHRSs). In particular, much attention should be paid to the challenges that are associated with maintenance and downtime. The key issue is that medical institutions may not ensure the effective functioning of these tools after their implementation.
At first, one should speak about the annual maintenance costs that can equal approximately $85,500 (McBride par. 13). In turn, many hospitals may not afford these expenditures. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about small healthcare organizations in which the cost-efficiency of EHRSs is rather low. Therefore, hospital administrators may not be able to invest capital in other areas related to the improvement of patient care. Admittedly, they can derive some benefits such as improved audit functions or time efficiency (Alsosari 496; Moja, Bertizzolo, and Bonovas 12). Nevertheless, these advantages may not outweigh the costs of maintenance.
Furthermore, the problems related to maintenance can arise when the users will apply various elements of EHRSs. The problem is that in many cases, nurses or physicians may lack the necessary competencies to apply EHRSs effectively (Shaker, Farooq, and Dhafar 1). As a result, they cannot fully benefit from adopting such technologies (Shaker and Farooq 173; Bah 1). This is one of the challenges that should be considered.
Apart from that, difficulties can arise if there are no safeguards that protect the private data of patients. At present, the risk of security breaches has not been eliminated, and the confidential information of patients can be transferred to unauthorized third parties (Ozair 74). In turn, hospitals may have to resolve significant conflicts with clients. In some cases, these disputes can lead to lawsuits that will be very costly. This is one of the risks that one should not overlook.
Additionally, maintenance can become challenging due to the lack of software that can be easily updated or modified (Aminpour, Sadoughi, and Ahamdi 57). Certainly, open-source software can be useful for modifying EHRSs, especially at a time when some technical problems have to be resolved (Aminpour, Sadoughi, and Ahamdi 57; Alsanea 117). Nevertheless, the developers of EHRSs do not always provide open-source software to medical organizations.
Furthermore, it is critical to remove such a problem as downtime. This term is used to describe the period during which the system is not available to the users. This technical problem can significantly undermine the work of many medical institutions (Oral 100). In particular, healthcare professionals may not quickly get access to the data which may be critical for the treatment of patients. In many cases, such events result in the dissatisfaction of these people. In turn, the adoption of EHRSs is more likely to become more widespread provided that there are well-developed procedures for coping with such difficulties. If these procedures are absent, medical workers may not get access to the relevant information as soon as possible. This is one of the issues that should be addressed by developers.
On the whole, this discussion shows that the adoption of EHRSs can be influenced by different factors. In particular, it is critical to consider the ability of developers to reduce downtime and provide support to medical institutions. If these challenges are effectively overcome, the rate of adoption will increase significantly.
Works Cited
Alsanea, Nasser. “The Future Of Health Care Delivery And The Experience Of A Tertiary Care Center In Saudi Arabia.” Annals Of Saudi Medicine 32.2 (2012): 117-120. Print.
Alsosari, Bakheet. “An Evaluation Of EHR System Audit Functions In A Saudi Arabian Hospital.” Journal Of Health Informatics In Developing Countries 6.2 (2012): 496-508. Print.
Aminpour, Farzaneh, Farahnaz Sadoughi, and Maryam Ahamdi. “Utilization Of Open Source Electronic Health Record Around The World: A Systematic Review.” Journal Of Research In Medical Sciences 19.1 (2014): 57-64. Print.
Bah, Sulaiman. “Annual Survey On The Level And Extent Of Usage Of Electronic Health Records In Government-Related Hospitals In Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.” Perspectives In Health Information Management 8.3 (2011): 1-12. Print.
McBride, Michael. “Understanding the true costs of an EHR implementation plan.” Medical Economic. 2012. Web.
Moja, Kwag, Lytras Bertizzolo, and Brandt Bonovas. “Effectiveness of computerized decision support systems linked to electronic health records: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” American Journal Of Public Health. 104.12 (2015): 12-22. Print.
Oral, Bulent. “Downtime Procedures For The 21St Century: Using A Fully Integrated Health Record For Uninterrupted Electronic Reporting Of Laboratory Results During Laboratory Information System Downtimes.” American Journal Of Clinical Pathology 143.1 (2015): 100-104. Print
Ozair, Fouzia. “Ethical Issues In Electronic Health Records: A General Overview.” Perspectives In Clinical Research 6.2 (2015): 73-76. Print.
Shaker, Hani and Mian Farooq. “Computer Literacy Of Physicians Among The Hospitals of Makkah Region.” Journal Of Family & Community Medicine 20.3 (2013): 173-178. Print.
Shaker, Hani, Mian Farooq, and Khalid Dhafar. “Physicians’ Perception About Electronic Medical Record System In Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.” Avicenna Journal Of Medicine 5.1 (2015): 1-5. Print.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.