Electronic Health Record: Primary Features and Ease of Use

If I were chosen to be part of the selection process for a hospital that is about to purchase a new EHR, some of the key factors I would look for to help in selecting a successful electronic health system for the hospital would include the EHR system’s primary features and ease of use. I would also consider the EHR system’s hardware compatibility, its flexibility, as well as the availability of support services.

            In the context of the EHR system’s primary features, I would ensure that the chosen EHR system has most of the primary features the hospital requires. In other words, the system has to meet the needs of all the stakeholders, including the doctors, administrative staff, nurses, patients, and IT professionals (Rey 121). The EHR system’s ease of use relates to choosing an EHR system that is not complex. The relevant hospital staff should be able to use the selected EHR system both easily and comfortably. In the context of hardware compatibility, the selected EHR system has to work well with the hospital’s existing infrastructure (Rey 125). Additionally, the chosen electronic health system should be flexible enough the specific needs of different groups. In the context of support service availability, the selected EHR system should be obtained from software providers who are ready and available to offer support when the system develops problems (Rey 128).

            Based on my experience and readings, I believe the two most important features of an electronic health record (EHR) include the system’s ability to manage a broad range of patient information and the system’s Interoperability. The primary role of an EHR is to digitize paper medical records. Therefore, an effective EHR system should be able to accommodate a huge amount of patient data. On the other hand, EHR system’s interoperability relates to its ability to integrate easily with other healthcare programs used by the hospital. Interoperability is a vital feature of an EHR system since it helps in streamlining various healthcare programs in a hospital.

References

Rey, Kris. “Electronic Health Record Adoption.” SSRN Electronic Journal (2015): 121-129. Web.