It used to be that when you needed a patient's record, you would have to seek approval from the attending physician and go to the records section of the hospital, get a clearance for the record keeper and the search for the file folder hidden in cabinets or boxes.
As tiring as it sounds, it gets even worse. After finding the file, you now have to make copies of it, either by photocopying or by hand and then return all of the records back to the library and be signed out by the record keeper.
With the computerization of the healthcare organization, requesting for such documents is easier and faster. Because everything is in a computer network, you can access the patient's records through any computer terminal in the premises and get it hassle free.
Electronic health record and its beginnings
The need for a better way to record, store and retrieve patient's information has lead to the request for proposal of electronic health record from different computer software companies. Many responded with the request for proposal of electronic health record with products that addressed their needs.
However the platform of their software varied from one hospital to the next. The request for proposal of electronic health record only ran on the hospital's computer network. It only made file sharing possible internally. Otherwise, doctors want to share patient's records for consultation has to type the information in another format and send it over by email, fax or courier.
Most of those who made the request for proposal of electronic health record also wanted the security of those files. This meant that the electronic health records should be easy to retrieve but still needed some authorization before getting the files. Healthcare organizations do follow a code of privacy as dictated by law and information as sensitive as a patient's record is always a matter of concern.
The request for proposal of electronic health record also needed to address the possibility of integration between the hospitals administrative information such as billings and test results made to the patient and the medical information form the doctor. Although some have taken this into account in creating their request for proposal of electronic health record, others were left to deal with two stand-alone software products.
The coding aspect of the request for proposal of electronic health record was also taken into consideration. There were those who only considered the including the keyboard and mouse as a way to input their data.
Today there are software systems that allow the nontraditional means of encoding information with much more ease and accuracy than typing. Voice recognition, light pens and touch screens have been incorporated into the software as a response to the request for proposal of electronic health record.
Among the entire request for proposal of electronic health record system made, the latest topic in debate is the use of the Internet for accessing the files. Now, for a fee, you can register and get a copy of a patient's medical record or you can ask for a request for proposal of electronic health record from other electronic health record vendors sponsoring that website.
For a hospital, this could mean a new source of income. And doctors are at ease, knowing that they can get their files and other records relevant to a patient's condition, do their research online and ever request for proposal of electronic health record systems to vendors.
The future of handling request for proposal of electronic health record is here. Change is inevitable.