How can your Electronic Medical Record (EMR) help promote prevention? By helping your patients create their individual Personal Health Record (PHR), you can effectively give them information that will help educate them to the proper direction for better health. Clinical preventive services can be broken down into screening tests, immunizations, counseling, and preventive medicine, and are effective ways of improving the quality of life. Communicating these services is a welcome breakthrough due to current technology.
Studies have shown that Americans receive only half of recommended care that they should receive. Most patients lack knowledge about needed services or might not be motivated to receive such care. Many face logistical challenges and clinicians are now challenged to find some simple tools to address these gaps. By harnessing the power of EMRs like Medisoft Clinical, a provider can help the patient create their own Personal Health Record (PHR) tailored to the individual’s health issues. This can be done with understandable language and can alert patients when services are due as well as supply guidance to deal with recommendations.
Written plans can be given to the patient via a patient portal and can be automated to update medication lists and doctor visits. This is consistent with a patient-centered, evidenced-based protocol that brings clinicians and patients together around a common goal. Educational material, decision aids and easy to understand language are all a part of helping your patient get the care he needs.
Other studies have found that many patients are overdue for certain services. Examples are:
- 49% were due for a screening test.
- 56% were due for a vaccination.
- 91% needed health behavior counseling
- 35% had inadequate control of a chronic condition.
Educating patients about maintaining a PHR fit’s with most practice’s mission. Most doctors agree that such a program will help the patient take ownership of their health by being connected to the provider and have more information to prompt them to help themselves. Patients will have to use the Internet to receive updates to their PHI. This is an issue for some. But by encouraging them to use the system and promoting the benefits, you can help increase the chances that better results will follow.
