Everything is going digital nowadays, even medical records. Last time you were at the doctor did they take out an envelope to access your health records? Or did your doctor pull it up on some type of computer?
Electronic health records
Recently medial professionals have been implementing software called EHR (Electric Health Records). This has become more and more popular. The percentage of office-based physicians who use EHR software stood at 57 percent in 2011, which increased from 50.7 percent in 2010.
Electronic records good news for patients
EHR is actually a great thing for patients. With electronic documents, doctors are less likely to misplace information and can access your documents more quickly. No more shuffling through papers. With the touch of a button, they can now access all of your information, which gives doctors more hours to spend with patients and shortens the length of time patients have to wait.
Federal government encouragement
The government is even behind the movement to digital documentation. The government is also pushing physicians to file their prescription information electronically rather than by hand. This, too, is smart; pharmacists tend to make prescription medication mistakes if they are attempting to read the often-incomprehensible handwriting of doctors. If they can access prescriptions electronically through their pcs, the chance of mistakes falls drastically.
