Electronic Medical Record

Electronic Medical Record

An electronic medical record (EMR) is the collection of electronically displayed patient and medical information stored in a digital format. The adoption of EMR systems is low in the healthcare system. Patients’ and healthcare workers’ resistance to the EMR system raises concerns about the security and privacy of health information and personal health records (Ronquillo et al., 2022).

There is a concern about the sharing of information between organizations. Data such as social media search history can be used to determine an individual’s lifestyle and hobbies. In the same way, patient records can be shared with pharmaceutical companies to decide which conditions affect the majority of patients and which medications are preferred. Electronic medical records are susceptible to hacking and manipulation (Jen et al., 2021).

Patients are concerned about whether hospitals using EMR have invested in antivirus software, firewalls, and intrusion detection software. EMR data must be maintained around the clock by a full security program and a system of audit trails. Patients raise concerns about confidentiality and data integrity. Patients are worried that the data they give the hospital might be altered without their consent (Tariq & Hackert, 2021). Those who are information technology literate know that their data can be copied and pasted from one system to another.

The issue of sharing data between organizations should be addressed first. Health leaders should come up with policies and regulations that govern the use of electronic medical records. The policies should clearly outline that sharing patient health records with other organizations is an offence and is legible to a hefty jail term. Every healthcare staff with authorized access to EMR should be trained to ensure data privacy and confidentiality.

References

Jen MY, Kerndt CC, Korvek SJ. Health Information Technology. [Updated 2021 Sep 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470186/

Ronquillo Y, Meyers A, Korvek SJ. Digital Health. [Updated 2022 May 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470260/

Tariq RA, Hackert PB. Patient Confidentiality. [Updated 2021 Oct 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519540/

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The goal of protecting patient information privacy often conflicts with the goal of providing the improved healthcare that EMRs can support. Provisions in HIPAA provide some confidentiality protection, but not enough. The potential for a major privacy breach lies in the system of primary or secondary users.

Electronic Medical Record

Please review:

Rodriguez, L. (2011). Privacy, security, and electronic health records. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/privacy-and-security-of-ehrs/privacy-security-electronic-health-records/.

What privacy and security issues are hindering the adoption of EMR systems?
In your opinion, which of these issues is the most important to address first?
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