Quick Facts About Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)

Electronic medical records:

1.Take time away from patient care.

2.Prioritize charting over care.

3. Fragment patient-care processes on menus.

4. Assume that a patient’s needs are routine and predictable.

5. Encourage charting by exception, putting words in a nurses’ mouth for which s/he can be held responsible later.

6. Can bury crucial information in a sea of irrelevant questions and answers.

7. Can make it harder to catch errors because of their extensive length and orderly, official appearance.

8. Replace clinical knowledge with technical knowledge.

9. Make care less personal and human.

10. Limit narrative charting, which is usually more concise, direct, personalized, and holistic.