Electronic medical record (abbreviated EMR) software is a growing need for all types of health care practices in modern society. In fact, for the United States of America, a stipulation of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act is that health care practices use EMR software to keep track of patient records. Though the Affordable Care Act is still being evaluated for its constitutionality, the suggestion of widespread use of EMR software on a national scale reflects its usefulness.
The advantage of EMR is its efficiency. It eliminates tons of paper and ink supplies, as well as gigantic filing cabinets, and it allows information to be stored easily for long periods of time. It also prevents accidental loss of charts due to misfiling. Additionally, it makes it easier for doctors and nurses to evaluate charts from other providers, as the information within the chart will be both organized and legible. The recent use of electronic medical records has also prompted other U.S. government laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (abbreviated HIPAA) to ensure privacy of electronic records.
While EMR medical software is designed to increase efficiency, it can be more difficult for smaller practices to obtain an affordable rate on the product. Often large companies will run several small health care practices and universally use software that they purchased at a bulk rate. This leaves independent practices with the responsibility to find EMR software on their own. Rates for such practices can be found online.
