Electronic medical records will usher in a boom

Information technology (IT) has changed people's daily life extremely fast. Although its application in the medical and health service system has been somewhat slow, it has been developing rapidly.

In a community medical service center in Harbin City, the patient went to the consultation desk and swipe his ID card to complete the self-service registration, and then went to the clinic to swipe his ID card. Information such as age, height, weight, blood type, allergy history, medication history, and medical history was all in the hospital's information. Displayed on the system. Based on this information and the patient's complaint, the doctor quickly checks for treatment, diagnoses, prescribing prescriptions, etc. When the patient visits the pharmacy again to get an ID card, they can get the medicine. The “cloud medical care” that the city is promoting has significantly improved the efficiency of community medical services.

Nanyang City, Henan Province has more than 5,300 primary and secondary level users. The city has implemented the management of chronic diseases by more than 500,000 people through the electronic medical record system, 130,000 maternal management and 770,000 child care. Nanyang City is implementing the "Smart Health" program. More than 40 secondary medical institutions, more than 4,000 village clinics and community health service stations in the city have joined the special network of health professionals to prepare for interoperability, data sharing and application of residents' health cards...

Inevitably, in recent years, the aging of the population has increased, and people’s health care awareness and the need for chronic care have continued to increase, requiring medical and health services to be more economical and efficient. Since the distribution of medical and health resources in China is extremely uneven, the government and medical and health institutions need not rely on information technology to ensure that medical services cover more people. Among them, Electronic Medical Record (EHR) is an important choice.

Many countries, including China, have recognized the benefits of promoting electronic medical records and are following this trend. A medical IT product supplier from Singapore told reporters that the Ministry of Health (MOH) established a national electronic medical record (NEHR) vision in Singapore in order to integrate medical care across hospitals and control medical costs. Everyone has an electronic medical record (One Singaporean, One Health Record). Singapore invested US$144 million in the implementation of the national electronic medical record project so that clinicians can access the patient's electronic medical record from the entire healthcare information system, thereby improving the service efficiency, operational integration, and clinical technology excellence of healthcare institutions. The second phase of the project will continue from 2012 until 2015.

The reporter learned that in 2010, China began to implement pilots of hospital information construction with electronic medical records as its core. On October 14, 2010, the Ministry of Health issued the “Notice of the Ministry of Health on Launching the Pilot Work of Electronic Medical Records” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”) and the “Work Plan for the Electronic Medical Records Trial” (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”). The "Notice" mentioned that the Ministry of Health will conduct electronic medical record pilot work in some regions and hospitals in 22 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Beijing. The "Program" has determined the pilot work goal, that is, in 1 year or so, through the development of electronic medical records pilot work, to explore and establish an electronic medical record system suitable for China's national conditions.

At present, many tertiary hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and eastern coastal economically developed regions have established or are establishing electronic medical record systems; the economically developed regions in central, eastern, and western regions will usher in an upsurge in the construction and application of electronic medical records. Industry experts predict that in the next five years, China's hospital electronic medical record market will develop rapidly.

Three benefits

The electronic medical records store important information such as patient personal information, medical history, various inspection reports, and medication history. Medical staff authorized by healthcare institutions can access electronic medical records across institutions and regions at any time and place. This means that the entire health care value chain can efficiently manage patients and provide services with the help of the electronic medical record, a complete information sharing platform.

According to industry experts, specifically, the benefits of electronic medical records for health care institutions include three aspects: First, make clear diagnosis and treatment decisions. The medical history, medication and other information in the electronic medical records are relatively complete and accurate, and authorized medical personnel can supplement follow-up information in time, such as self-care instructions, follow-up medical tips, and links to website resources. With reliable access to the patient's complete medical information, healthcare providers can identify symptoms earlier and diagnose the condition as soon as possible. Communication between the patient and the medical service provider can also be easily and quickly performed, which helps the medical staff to develop a treatment plan. The second is standard diagnosis and treatment. Electronic medical records also help reduce medication errors. For example, when a new prescription is issued, the electronic medical records system can automatically detect prescriptions, find medication conflicts, and warn clinicians about medication problems. The third is to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Because the information in the electronic medical records can be shared across hospitals and regions, it can reduce the number of duplicate inspections and medical procedures, shorten the time for medical treatment and reduce medical expenses, and reduce the cost of medical service management that accounts for a large proportion of medical costs.

It is worth mentioning that the automatic identification and data acquisition (AIDC) technology, which is an important supporting technology for electronic medical record systems, especially bar code technology, can convert physical elements into digital elements through highly accurate and convenient rapid data entry methods. Patients and healthcare practitioners provide a digital environment. The nurse can scan the bar code from the master document for medical services or blood transfusions, surgical procedures, etc. performed by the nurse, or enter the treatment measure into the electronic medical record. The Brigham and Women's Hospital, a hospital affiliated with the Harvard Medical School, reported that the use of bar code technology had reduced the medication error by 41%.

Experts said that in 2004 and 2005, the British National Health System (NHS) faced more than 400 million U.S. dollars in claims for medical negligence. One of the main reasons for this was the misidentification of patients. Such mistakes could be fully implemented through electronic medical records. And use barcode technology to reduce or eliminate it completely.