Use of Handheld Devices for EMR Data Capture

Electronic Medical Records have revolutionized the patient chart recording system in hospitals. The patient charts are now recorded electronically making them much more efficient and error-free than paper records. 

EMR software has already made patient management easy with its features to record each and every stage of treatment, now with handheld devices for EMR data capture it has become even more convenient to record data on the spot and reduce error to a large extent. 

To understand how handheld devices are much more efficient than stationary devices for EMR data recording, let us look into both the difficulties of stationary devices and the uses of handheld devices for EMR data capture.

Difficulties that stationary devices pose to recording in EMR

EMR has several modules to record the complete procedure through which the patient goes through in the hospital. But consider a situation where you are taking care of a patient in a critical stage. Doctors and nurses would have to spend a considerable amount of time recording these procedures, findings, symptoms, and treatment on the EMR which will be available in a stationary computer system. 

The health care workers will have to record this roughly first and then run to these devices or transfer these communications to another person to record them on the EMR. This again takes time and causes an error during data entry and even results in leaving out critical information.

Even for retrieving patient history to check the medications provided earlier, or to check the patient’s lab reports, hospital staff has to move around to collect this information and bring it to the doctor to decide the treatment. This again takes out a lot of time from the actual treatment. 

Solution through Mobile devices for EMR recording

Using a handheld or mobile devices which are integrated with the EMR software has become a growing trend in hospitals. It makes the process of data transfer easy and accurate.  Let us look at some of the uses of handheld devices for EMR data capturing.

• Live reporting and time-saving
  Doctors and nurses can report live on the EMR. They can carry the mobiles or tabs around with them just like carrying around patient charts and record the findings live on the EMR. These records will be available for specialists too immediately. Doctors don’t have to wait for another person to lift the history of the patients from the computer as they can check it on their mobile or tab.
• Reduces loss of information and error
  As the reports are made immediately the number of mistakes that can occur is highly reduced. It adds to the factor that live reporting also reduces the risk of losing information during communication. The information entered into the EMR is first hand and this makes way for clear and crisp medical records.
• Personalized care
  Doctors and nurses can check the status of their patients' health on their mobiles and tabs. They can keep an eye on the developments and the treatment they get. They can also suggest changes in treatment remotely. Making it more convenient for doctors and nurses to provide better care.

With the access and availability of the internet at our fingertips, the health care sector is utilizing new technological advancements to their maximum for the benefit of better healthcare and treatment for its patients. The use of handheld devices for medical reporting and recording is just an inevitable change for better convenience. 

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