Academic electronic medical record system usability testing Coursework

Academic electronic medical record system usability testing - Coursework Example Some researchers suggest that the main reasons for the backlog in new technology applications are the following: a large number of end-users (e.g. physicians, nurses, and other medical technical personnel) are still strong followers of traditional pen-and-paper methods of information retrieval and storage; high costs of implementation and maintenance of the systems; the usability of the programs are highly variable amongst the software developers and the end-users, with those not having enough computer technical know-hows end up not using the system to their advantage; the use of computer-based records interfere with the time allotted to interact with the patient; and because future nurses are not taught how to use electronic health records (EHR) as early as possible during their studying years (McBride, 2011; Master of Technical and Scientific Communication Program Students, 2004; Moody, et al., 2004; Natarajan, et al., 2010). ... Common EHR Usage in Hospitals Using HER’s in hospitals provide improvements in health care delivery mainly due to the reduction of inaccuracies in patient health and medicine records. There is considerably less misinterpretation of information handled from the reduced use of handwriting which often leads to inaccuracies in patient records or from missing information due to illegibility (Garrido, et al., 2005; Simon, et al., 2007). But EHR is not limited to the storage and retrieval of patient health information, as it also functions as a database for other kinds of data such as drug dosage and actions, disease symptoms, and physician information which many identified users can access in order to synchronise patient medical information and history from (Wang, et al., 2008). At the same time, EHR can also function as an alarm or reminder notification system for regular users in their work duties, such as patient check-up times or administration of drugs, creation of electronic m emos such as patient health progress, among others (Bonnel & Smith, 2010; Moody, et al., 2004; Simon, et al., 2007). This makes for the EHR's contribution in enhancing care delivery for end-users and other stakeholders, and it is expected that the number of agencies putting EHR in effect will also increase in proportion to the improvements made in the program user interfaces. Impact of Teaching EHR in Schools Due to the costs of EHR instalment and maintenance, it can be expected that the bulk of end-users of such programs would be large health facilities such as hospitals or other medical institutions, or individual practitioners tied to these facilities. This is mainly from the high volume of patients or clients that enter regularly or intermittently and have their health records