Working in the prehospital field when paper patient care reports (PCR) were still being utilized and transitioning to the electronic PCRs, I noticed a huge difference in effectiveness. It took me less time to complete my PCRs (after adequate training using the EMR) and saw how they helped upkeep HIPAA by maintaining all of our patient records more private rather than using loose leaf papers. So thinking about electronic health records in nursing I think of how having this technology can help ease accessibility, reduce the time it takes for nurses to chart, increase transparency, and improve overall patient outcomes and satisfaction. Although technology is not 100% reliable with scammers and other technological issues, I think it has definitely helped improve healthcare.

By improving health information exchange, as nurses we are able to access our patient’s records no matter where they decide to get health care. As a former ER tech, I saw how difficult it was to access an out of state patient’s health record during their emergency visit. We had to make a lot of phone calls to other facilities to try to access their records, all of which took time and made their emergency visit longer. Hearing about the HIE technological advancements that the state of Maine provides for its residents is a huge advantage for everyone. As a nurse they are able to read a patient’s chart before the patient’s appointment and it also increases the patient’s satisfaction because they don’t have to repeat themselves (Yeo-Fisher & Bearor, 2021). Next time I am in the clinical setting I will definitely try to access the HIE for the patients that I am caring for so that I can be more educated and feel more comfortable using it. Moreover I will try to educate my patients about the benefits of having their records available in the HIE.

References

Yeo-Fisher, N., & Bearor, S. (2021). Maine’s Health Information Exchange. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://brightspace.une.edu/d2l/le/content/12132/viewContent/411847/View