Benefits of Paperless Record Systems in Hospitals

This following guest article was written by Richard Hemby who regularly writes about online health care degrees and other college related topics for Online College Guru, an online college degree guide

The Benefits of Paperless Record Systems in Hospitals

Bulky charts full of hand-written scribbles, test results and medication history are becoming a thing of the past in hospitals across the nation. Medical charting is undergoing an exciting transformation to digital record keeping that will change patient care for good.

Until now, finding critical medical documents could take several minutes or more thumbing through pages and pages of records. During an emergency, those precious minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Thanks to electronic paperless record systems, a physician can pull up information about a patient in just seconds. The ability to do so can drastically improve the quality of patient care and save lives.

With traditional paper charting, it can take several days for physicians, laboratories and hospitals to transcribe and exchange exam notes and test results. This can cause a serious delay in proper medical care for patients. Paperless record systems allow all of the professionals treating a patient to quickly and efficiently exchange information.

Laptop and desktop computers hosting electronic record keeping software will soon replace overstuffed patient charts. Not only is this move fantastic for the future of healthcare, it makes great business sense for hospitals as well. Providing a higher level of patient care and faster service translates to happier patients and fewer medical errors and malpractice lawsuits. Having electronic medical records also frees up much needed space that has traditionally been devoted to storing an ever-growing library of paper charts.

President Barack Obama hopes to convert all paper charting to digital by the year 2014. In an effort to make this happen, the U.S. Government is offering $19 billion in stimulus money to help hospitals with the cost of transitioning to digital record systems. President Obama believes that the transition to paperless record systems will make the U.S. health care system safer, more efficient and will reduce overall health care costs.

While the initial cost of implementing a paperless system can be very steep, electronic record keeping is more cost effective than paper records in the long run. When all new records are written electronically and all old records have been scanned into the system, the cost of storing paper records and paying workers to organize, file and maintain them will be eliminated. This equals huge long-term savings for hospitals. Electronic record keeping can be intimidating at first, but the benefits that paperless record systems offer greatly outweigh the upfront cost.

The Benefits of Paperless Record Systems in Hospitals

This following guest article was written by Richard Hemby who regularly writes about online health care degrees and other college related topics for Online College Guru, an online college degree guide

Bulky charts full of hand-written scribbles, test results and medication history are becoming a thing of the past in hospitals across the nation. Medical charting is undergoing an exciting transformation to digital record keeping that will change patient care for good.

Until now, finding critical medical documents could take several minutes or more thumbing through pages and pages of records. During an emergency, those precious minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Thanks to electronic paperless record systems, a physician can pull up information about a patient in just seconds. The ability to do so can drastically improve the quality of patient care and save lives.

With traditional paper charting, it can take several days for physicians, laboratories and hospitals to transcribe and exchange exam notes and test results. This can cause a serious delay in proper medical care for patients. Paperless record systems allow all of the professionals treating a patient to quickly and efficiently exchange information.

Laptop and desktop computers hosting electronic record keeping software will soon replace overstuffed patient charts. Not only is this move fantastic for the future of healthcare, it makes great business sense for hospitals as well. Providing a higher level of patient care and faster service translates to happier patients and fewer medical errors and malpractice lawsuits. Having electronic medical records also frees up much needed space that has traditionally been devoted to storing an ever-growing library of paper charts.

President Barack Obama hopes to convert all paper charting to digital by the year 2014. In an effort to make this happen, the U.S. Government is offering $19 billion in stimulus money to help hospitals with the cost of transitioning to digital record systems. President Obama believes that the transition to paperless record systems will make the U.S. health care system safer, more efficient and will reduce overall health care costs.

While the initial cost of implementing a paperless system can be very steep, electronic record keeping is more cost effective than paper records in the long run. When all new records are written electronically and all old records have been scanned into the system, the cost of storing paper records and paying workers to organize, file and maintain them will be eliminated. This equals huge long-term savings for hospitals. Electronic record keeping can be intimidating at first, but the benefits that paperless record systems offer greatly outweigh the upfront cost.