Electronic Health Record Psychology Coursework Paper (Coursework Sample)

Electronic Health Record
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Option 1: Electronic Health Record
Healthcare has had several innovations and technology that have made healthcare easier, faster, and more efficient. One such technology is the electronic health record. The electronic health record (EHR) refers to a digitized version of a patient's medical history. Electronic health records are taken in real-time and immediately make the information accessible to all authorized relevant stakeholders including insurance and medical teams. EHRs contain the patient's medical history including diagnosis of illnesses, medication is given, dates of medication and immunization, laboratory test results, and treatment plans. They can also access tools that make decisions based on the patient's history of the best medical care to give the patient. Moreover, it is possible to share relevant information on a patient with other health providers in case of transfer of treatment and with authorization from the patient. The main role of EHRs is to amalgamate the data on a patient from all various healthcare sources including laboratories, pharmacies, clinics, and medical imaging facilities CITATION Hea19 \l 1033 (HealthIT.gov, 2019).
Despite the many advantages of using electronic health records, the use of this technology brings about several moral problems. One problem is the issue of privacy and confidentiality. Richard Rognehaugh described privacy as “the right of an individual to keep information about themselves from being disclosed to others” CITATION Fou15 \l 1033 (Fouzia F. Ozair, 2015). Medical information must be kept undisclosed unless the patient or the legal representative, in case a patient’s mental incapacity permits it. The use of EHR leaves critical and confidential data in the hands of many who may easily misuse the information.