Description of the Electronic Health Record (EHR)
President Bush signed an executive order on April 27, 2007, that requires all health care facilities implement electronic health records (EHR) by 2014 …show more content…
NCH has been using EPIC for electronic health records for many years but did not have the patient access until December, 2011 when NCH launched the use of myChart. myChart allows families to have access to their child’s medical records, test results, imaging, ability to communicate with their provider, and even request appointments (Coglianses, 2011). The planning committee noticed a need for this service with the advancement of technology and social media (Coglianses, 2011). Also, allowing patients to have access to their medical records, aligns with the goals set by the Affordable Care Act as it grating access to patient’s medical records. Allowing patients to send messages to providers will cut back on time spent attempting to reach a family over the phone. “myChart allows concise, direct communication between the parties involved, instead of a game of phone tag followed by a 10 minute phone conversation that may cause frustration for one or both participants (Coglianses, 201, para. 10. Testing related to drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy will not be available in myChart, nor will any diagnosis related to abuse of any kind are listed in myChart records (Coglianese, 2011). Registration staff will set up the account with the child’s parent or legal guardian when they arrive for an appointment. A code specific to that patient is sent via email and is linked to their profile to allow for …show more content…
With the implantation of EHR’s, the ability to fax protected health information, and the capability to send health information by email, it is important for nurses to protect a patient’s health information. NCH has taken steps to keep medical information safe include private patient rooms, computers at bedside for charting, and bedside reporting. Other safeguards put in place consist of requiring user name, password, and fingerprint when working with the computer to prevent unwanted access by visitors. The computers also time after ten minutes of not being used. I use email to communicate with the providers every day in one of my clinics. When seeking information about a patient, we encrypt the message to ensure privacy. When faxing confidential patient information, I always use a cover page that includes a privacy statement. I work in a clinic that is designed to work with families who are wanting to adopted children from other countries. Most children have a significant medical problem. The families seek out professional advice from the physician in regards to the medical condition and how it will affect the child and the family if they are to adopt the child. Current practice to receive the medical files via email, however, the files are not