INFORMATION SYSTEMS SITE VISIT PAPER Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

INFORMATION SYSTEMS SITE VISIT - Research Paper Example However, every coin has two sides, and EHRs have their positive and negative sides as well. When implementing EHRs, there are various issues that healthcare professionals should consider, some of which include medication reconciliation and safety. This paper addresses these three issues, medication reconciliation, safety and EHRs by reporting an interview with a pharmacy director who has practical knowledge on EHRs as a result of them being implemented and utilized in his hospital. From the interview, EHR involves the storage of patient data (health records) in an electronic form. This data is retrieved electronically using computers and hand held devices, such as tablets, iPads and iPhones. The pharmacy director informed that their organization implemented EHR system five years ago. Since EHR system is a new concept in the healthcare field, this organization can be considered a pioneer in EHR. The main aim of this interview activity was to identify the benefits that EHR is offering organizations that have successfully implemented it, and this part covers the rest of the interview questions. The interviewee summarized the benefits that their organization has realized from the implementation of EHRs as follows: improved efficiency in healthcare service delivery, reduced operational costs and hence reduced cost of healthcare services, improvement in clinical decision-making, improved health in the society and improvement in patient care including improved patient safety and equity (Menachemi and Collum, 2011). The interviewee noted that EHRs have enabled professionals in his organization to have complete, accurate and up-to-date information about patients, which helps in making crucial decisions. Additionally, in accordance with HealthIT (2014), the pharmacy director noted that EHRs have helped the organization to share