Description
Please respond to discussion below using current APA edition and 2 scholarly references. Must be 150 words.
What are the pros and cons you have found?
The electronic medical record system my clinic facility site uses is called eMDs, which is a brand of CompuGroup (eMDs, 2023). I found the system to be user-friendly, but outdated. I’m not sure if this is because the version my clinic site uses is older, but it was not anything that I was used to using such as EPIC, another electronic medical record system. The pros of using eMDs include the capability of e-prescriptions, accessibility of patient records, and the collaboration of using other technologies to review imaging & blood work. I was very impressed with how easy it was to send prescriptions electronically to any pharmacy a patient requested with just a few clicks. However, I was shocked to see that a user must click every medication one by one to delete it from a patient list versus a multiple selection option allowing for faster removal. Other cons of using eMDs I found were the amount of time it takes to chart a patient assessment and the dependence on adequate internet service.
Is E-prescription incorporated into the EMH?
Electronic prescribing and medication administration systems are increasingly being utilized in clinical settings to help reduce medication-related risks, therefore, enhancing patient safety (Mohsin-Shaikh et al., 2019). In this clinic where I am completing my clinical, there is an incorporation of e-prescribing on eMDs. I found this to be very efficient and helpful because not only does it immediately send out to the pharmacy requested, but it eliminates the issue of patients losing their written prescriptions from the physician.
Does it have adaptive learning? Does it have an incorporated patient doorway?
During my time at the clinical site, I did not notice any adaptive learning features such as artificial intelligence or certain algorithms used to make the system user-friendly. However, I did notice that the system would suggest certain medical diagnoses when the provider would type in their assessment. Furthermore, I have encountered systems that utilize a patient portal that allows patients to see their provider’s notes and test results on their own devices, but I did not see that was capable with eMDs being that all patients received their printed-out lab results at their office visit. Patient portals are becoming an essential doorway for patients to have access to their care because of the ability of them to securely access their health records, communicate with their providers, and share information with their providers as well (Carini et al., 2021).
Is there flexibility in the absence of internet connectivity?
From the experience I have had with eMDs at my clinic site, there is no flexibility with the absence of internet connectivity. When the internet was down at the office, my preceptor would use the other internet connection that was at the office, however, sometimes that would produce very slow results as well. This would become very frustrating at times, especially if the clinic was full, we had many walk-ins, or even if we were in the middle of charting an assessment or patient note during a patient encounter. Luckily, my preceptor was used to this issue occurring and there were ways to get around the issue of no internet connection.
Does it have effective documentation and image management capability?
Yes, eMDs have many features to help with effective documentation such as suggestions for the use of smart charting, customizable notes that offer a template for providers to use, and user-friendly clickable options for charting patient assessments. I was very impressed with the image capabilities of eMDs being that if we needed to review an imaging note with the impression results, it was very easy to read.
