By | Samantha Higgins
Technology that pertains to electronic medical records, or EMR for short, or indeed most technology in general, has advanced remarkably quickly within the last 5 years alone and continues to advance at a rapid pace into the future. In the medical field, which is also constantly and rapidly moving forward, such software designed for transferring and storing large amounts of patient data privately and among several interrelated systems has steadily been gaining new features and functions to accommodate new needs, while the public’s increased usage of portable electronic devices like smartphones and tablets has illustrated the need to find new and creative ways to interconnect the parallel powerhouses of technological advancement and social progression. It is easier than ever now, with technology everywhere, to bridge more and more gaps between the provider and patient as well as between the public and the profession. With all of this information in mind, the following are just some of the many different ways in which EMR technology has advanced in just the last 5 years or so.
Mobile Compatibility
The first way in which EMR technology has advanced in the last 5 years or so is by ensuring and constantly seeking to improve the compatibility of EMR software with handheld devices like smartphones and tablets, as well as the clouds and other forms of storage offered by them. In today’s technology-reliant and the on-the-go world, where portable electronic devices like smartphones and tablets are commonplace, more patients than ever are carrying around gateways to a better understanding of and access to them. Therefore, EMR apps compatible with hospital computer data allow a relationship between provider and patient to be closer to each other and to real-time. Furthermore, providers should always seek to stay ahead of the curve or at least on the same page as their patients when it comes to technology and social media usage in order to help bring about the best quality care possible.
Software Upgrades
The second way in which EMR technology has advanced in the last 5 years or so is in terms of functionality and capabilities. New EMR apps arise and extant ones gain updates which allow for new and diverse purposes. This allows for closer compatibility and a more streamlined overall medical process, allowing departments to better informationally connected. For example, older EMR apps may have been limited to data storage, but new incarnations may boast improvements in security and storage. Software such as Caretracker software offers integrated cloud-based EMR solutions along with practice management or PM ones.
User-friendliness
The third and final way in which EMR technology has advanced in the last 5 years or so is by improving usability and user-friendliness. Even if a particular application or software is highly efficient and capable of many functions, the weakest link so to speak is the ability for the user to interact and engage fully and properly with it without becoming frustrated and closed off further to technology. As such, an application or software should always strive to be as user-friendly as possible, which recent improvements in EMR have made easier to achieve. These include a more visually accessible user interface, customer service availability, and tutorials and other services to help users better understand the full potential and benefit of the medical software. Such improvements have become more commonplace, not to mention easily accessible and user-friendly for patients and providers.
The medical field has been progressing at a rapid pace, with an abundance of new breakthroughs constantly leading to new possibilities. This has raised a resultant awareness as to the need to make sure that information stays as secure and as close to real-time as possible between provider and patient in order to maximize the quality of care a medical institution can provide. While errors, computer and clerical, are difficult or even impossible to eliminate entirely, there is no doubt that consistently new improvements and advancements in EMR software are a crucial step in the right direction. EMR has already advanced so much in just the last 5 years alone and shows no sign of stopping, leading to optimism about what new utility and potential may arise from it. This in turn could affect countless patients’ and providers’ lives and experiences in a positive way going forward.
