EHR Access by EMS Providers will Improve Patient Outcomes Allowing emergency medical care providers to access the patient’s electronic health record can improve patient health and safety.
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Documentation is a critical element in patient care, as every medical transcription company knows. For emergency medical service (EMS) providers, creating good electronic patient care reports (ePCRs) or well-written narratives are important to provide a clear picture of the care provided at the scene and to convey the patient’s needs, which will influence care decisions by downstream health care providers. According to a recent report in EMS1.com, access to patient records via prehospital and hospital EHR integration will help paramedics improve patient outcomes. However, the report points out that, today, EMTs and paramedics operate in an information vacuum without any outside health data. Why EMS Providers Need Access to EHRs To provide care in a crisis or disaster situation, EMS providers need to have access to critical patient data such as past medical problems, medications, allergies, and end-of-life decisions. Suppose a patient in an emergency situation is in severe respiratory distress. To respond efficiently, the paramedic needs to have information about the underlying disease which can be derived from the patient’s past medical history, including diagnoses, interventions, and operations. Such information can be obtained only by referencing the patient’s electronic health record. The reasons why EMS providers need access to EHRs are as follows: •
A patient’s history is critical to appropriate care in emergencies
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The patient may not be able to respond to questions about medical history
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The patient’s caregivers may be unavailable or unable to provide basic, reliable health information about the patient
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As first responders, paramedics often have to make immediate, life-saving decisions without any patient health information during emergencies
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EMS providers impact outcome measures, quality of care, and patient satisfaction both at the scene and in route to the hospital
Having access to the patient’s EHR will allow the EMS provider to understand the patient's condition and use it to provide the right care in a crisis. The author of the EMS1.com report says that prehospital and hospital EHR integration can be achieved only through the collaborative efforts of EHR vendors, EMS providers, managers, visionaries, health
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information management professionals and regulatory agencies. The greatest takeaway of such integration would be for patients -- well-informed and well-connected EMS providers at their side. ePCR an Important Part of the Patient’s Overall Health Record In a January 2017 report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, an EMS specialist stresses that the ePCR is an integral element of the patient’s overall health record. “EMS data [are] health care data. Information from EMS is an important part of the medical record and it has incredible value to patients and downstream health providers. Seamlessly integrating this information and making it available in electronic health records is vital to the continuum of care, but that has not yet been realized in much of the country.” The HIT report stresses the ePCR should be integrated with the patient’s longitudinal health record. Therefore, paramedics need to ensure high quality, accurate ePCRs. Medical Transcription Outsourcing for Error-free ePCRs Producing error-free ePCR in an emergency situation is not an easy task. Issues that often arise when a busy paramedic types out a narrative are: jumbled entry of treatments, short and incomplete reports, use of abbreviations that are difficult to understand and errors in spelling and grammar. Outsourcing transcription can help. A report published in JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medicine Services) noted how paramedics at the South Metro Fire/Rescue in Centennial Colorado (an EMS agency) benefited immensely from medical transcription services. Their PCR reports had been confusing and complex, but the transcription service provided clarity and made them easy to understand. The paramedics reported that this eased their load and improved the accuracy of their reports. Choosing the right medical transcription company will ensure the availability of ePCR narratives in the required format with outstanding accuracy. Integrating these reports in the EHR will go a long way in improving the way paramedics and downstream health care providers operate.
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