Last updated on Friday, 10, July, 2020

Storing the patient’s information in the clinic or a hospital is very important and a major task. The reason it’s important is that, in the future, if the patient develops a complication that is highly sensitive, then doctors must know the past medical history of those patients. Otherwise, slightly wrong treatment can cause more damage than a cure.

One can easily store and manage patient’s data by using a medical records management software. You can use an electronic health record system that would let you keep the information in a harmonious way. By using that, you can access the data from anywhere and it would also keep things safe. In this article, we are going to talk about the pros and cons of medical records management system.

Pros of using a medical records management system

Safe, secure and easy storage of large data

By using software, you can store large size of information without any hassle. You do not need a large storage capacity for keeping the information at a place. All the relatable information is saved in one place safely and securely. If you would store that data in the form of paper records, you would require a separate space or room to keep them.

Furthermore, you would be needing a temperature-controlled room to keep those documents safe. In hot summer days, the papers can stick to each other, or the ink can blot, causing damage to the data. Or think, an insect can eat the paper, causing huge damage to the medical records.

Moreover,  if that room catches fire, all of the papers would be burned in no time, and you would eventually lose all the patient’s record. If you keep the medical records in an electronic medical record system, you can keep them safe and secure with easy storage.

Saves time and reduces errors

Have you ever thought about how much time does it take for a doctor to write all the notes and description in the file? The healthcare professionals spend a vast time on just writing the notes on the files. Medical records management can be made faster by using the electronic medical record software. Electronic storage of data is fast and reliable than paper records management.

Moreover, many medication errors occur due to the messy handwriting of doctors. When they would prescribe electronically, the prescription would be neat and clean, with legible handwriting. According to research, a medication error is the third leading cause of people’s death after cancer and heart disease.

When the doctor prescribes electronically, the chances of medication errors are greatly reduced. This is because it would alarm you if any wrong medication is being prescribed for a disease. Or if there is any contraindication of the drug to the disease or another drug. It would also inform the physician about the right dose and dosage forms, etc.

Therefore, using medical records management systems help in reducing errors and keeping the tasks smooth and accurate.

Cons of medical records management

Expensive

Medical records management through an electronic health record system is expensive than doing that on papers. If you would do that via software, you would need to train your staff members before. Also, you would need to hire someone for its management and maintenance. While, when you do that on paper, you do not need to train someone formally for it.

They can just start working by having a paper and a pen. You would also have to invest money in buying fancy technology software. Instead, you can invest that money on some other better purposes. Affordability and maintenance of electronic software is a problematic thing for many institutions.

Collapsing and slow interface

Fancy technology software can collapse anytime, they can simply stop working leaving you with a panic attack. Imagine if someone is working at an emergency department or a busy pharmacy and your electronic software just stopped working or is working too slow. They will literally get so much stressed sand panicked, eventually leading to a decrease the clinical productivity.

If you would do all your activities on paper, you would not have to face this kind of horrible situation. Things would move may be a bit slow, but smoothly and peacefully. Slow interface and collapsed systems can make working troublesome and difficult for healthcare staff.

Conclusion

Medical records management is a crucial and vital part of day to day clinical activity. You require to keep the patient’s record safe and organized. Nowadays, the majority of hospitals and clinics are working through electronic medical record systems to keep things simple and smooth. Since everything has its pros and cons, you should focus on the method that suits best to your hospital’s or clinic’s needs.

InstaCare is providing an easy to use, fast interface, and reliable electronic medical record management system. For more details please contact InstaCare.