In navigating the Practice Fusion EHR website (Practice Fusion, 2012), I found the interface to be very helpful. The site could be easily navigated and the interface was simple enough for users to understand. The interface was also very intuitive, making it easy for users to determine how to perform a certain function or how they can access a particular type of information. Similarly, the site provides all of the patient information that a healthcare professional would need to know. In addition, the system logs the user’s activities within the system, which make it easier to ensure accountability. As well, the graphical charts are a great feature as they enable the healthcare professional to easily interpret patient data.
If shared with other facilities, the Practice Fusion EHR system will be helpful in that it would enable the prompt coordination of patient nformation among these facilities, especially if the patient sees physicians from multiple facilities. This also ensures that all of the facilities have accurate patient information as they basically use only one source. This would be better than the manual handling of patient information, which can lead to the existence of multiple copies of the same information, which in turn can lead to inconsistencies in the information. The EHR system also has unlimited storage and yet still allows for information to be easily accessed (Gurley, 2004).
This would also result in reduced medical errors and reduced financial and operational costs (Menachemi & Collum, 2011) as this would eliminate a lot of manual work and manual record keeping. Moreover, it would enable healthcare professionals to respond quickly in emergency situations (“Benefits of EMR,” 2008), as they can easily find the information they need even when the patient information was recorded at another facility. In addition, an EHR system can promote efficiency and better time management for the medical staff (Thakkar & Davis, 2006). As well, an EHR system that is used by multiple facilities will make it easier for researchers to consolidate their research data and it will also make it easier for healthcare facilities to provide the reports that the government requires.
What impressed me about the web-based EHR was how easy it was to use and how it contained everything I needed to know about the patient. At the moment, I can’t think of any information that I need that the site doesn’t provide. I’m also impressed at the graphs and charts as they are a useful addition to the information provided about the patient. Of course, I’m also impressed that Practice Fusion is being offered as a free service, which I think is a very noble act and an effective way of making people see and realize just how helpful EHRs are.
Finally, I think that the Practice Fusion EHR system would be basically the same as other EHR demos in that they would share the same basic concepts, that is, allowing users to view, query, and change patient information. However, differences would probably be in the interface and in the complexity of the features included, that is, more sophisticated EHR systems may have more complex and advanced features that are currently not available in the Practice Fusion EHR system.
References
Benefits of EMR. (2008, August 11). Retrieved from http://www.msdc.com/EMR_Benefits.htm.
Gurley, L. (2004). Advantages and disadvantages of the electronic medical record. Retrieved
Menachemi, N. & Collum, T.H. (2011). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record
Systems. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 4, 47-55.
Practice Fusion. (2012). Practice Fusion: Free web-based electronic health records. Retrieved
Thakkar, M. & Davis, D.C. (2006, August 14). Risks, barriers, and benefits of EHR systems: A
comparative study based on size of hospital. Perspectives in Health Information
Management, 3 (5). Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2047303/.
