| If you're patient, or an NHS healthcare | | | | than normal, or maybe your dentist wants to |
| professional, then you'll probably know at least a | | | | know more about the treatment you recently |
| little bit about electronic health records. Here's | | | | had, or about any allergies. The ability to share |
| what you need to know, and how it will benefit | | | | information between healthcare providers is much |
| you. | | | | better for all concerned, both patients and staff. |
| 1. Electronic health records are computerised, and | | | | 7. As electronic medical records are saving time |
| so are quick to update. This means that less time | | | | as well as money, they are helping the NHS to be |
| needs to be spent writing up notes and records, | | | | more efficient, as staff are able to devote more |
| and changing contact details. | | | | of their time to their patients, rather than having |
| 2. Computerised medical records are much more | | | | to handle administrative tasks. |
| accurate than paper based notes, and so they will | | | | 8. As well as the actual notes, modern patient |
| always be up to date. This means that there is no | | | | records also allow images digital images to be |
| need for patients to continually ask for their | | | | accessed. This means that medical staff have |
| details to be amended, or have to give their | | | | instant access to X rays and ultrasounds, even if |
| details to every different NHS professional they | | | | they were done hundreds of miles away. Previous |
| see. | | | | to Connecting For Health, images would need to |
| 3. These computerised medical records are quick | | | | have been physically sent by courier in order to |
| to access and reliable, and so there is no need for | | | | be viewed at a different location, which could |
| a doctor to prepare a stack of notes before | | | | have taken days rather than seconds. |
| seeing their patients. There's also no risk of | | | | 9. Less storage space is required for |
| getting patients confused, or forgetting to write | | | | computerised records. Instead of needing many |
| notes for a patient. | | | | filing cabinets, or even rooms, for patient notes, a |
| 4. Medical notes need to be secure, and electronic | | | | single computer can hold thousands or even |
| health records are far more secure than paper | | | | millions of patients' details. |
| based records. As they can be stored off site, | | | | 10. When a patient moves to a new region, or a |
| they are much less likely to be damaged in a | | | | new doctor, their notes can be instantly |
| break in, flood or fire too. | | | | transferred, so that the new surgery has the full |
| 5. Unlike with paper based records, there is no | | | | medical history of the patient, immediately. This |
| chance of electronic patient records getting lost | | | | would have required the notes to have been sent, |
| between departments, or after a patient has | | | | and would have taken several days. |
| been seen. | | | | Now you know more about electronic healthcare |
| 6. Thanks to technology, electronic patient | | | | records, and what they mean for you, you'll begin |
| records are available at any hospital, or health | | | | to notice the benefits the next time you need |
| provider that need to have access to them. | | | | medical treatment. |
| Perhaps you'll be treated at a different hospital | | | | |