The global Electronic Health Records (EHR) market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.43% by 2030. Healthcare is one of the most prosperous spheres for automation and digitalization because so much manual work and personal data are concentrated in this industry. Since the 1970s, EHR systems have revolutionized healthcare and brought new opportunities as well.
An EHR developer is a specialist who analyzes the interests and capabilities of each clinic and selects software for specific needs or requests. He or she should be familiar with how each office interacts with personal data and highly protected information, data migration, and various methods of security. EHR developers are highly detail-oriented professionals who can work with you to take your healthcare business to a new level.
Electronic health records (EHR) are the digital analog of a patient's medical history. Software related to the formation of electronic health records began in the late 1960s in the United States. The first type of EHR was proposed by Dr. Lawrence Weed in the form of a medical report (problem-oriented medical record). The goal of the proposed report was to combine medical information obtained from doctors of various specialties who treated the patient. In 1997, scientists Dick R.S., Steen E.B., and Detmer D.E. published a document called, "The Computer-Based Patient Record: an Essential Technology for Health Care." However, this single report could not inform the basic concept of an EHR-additional research was needed.
In 1999, data were presented demonstrating that in the United States, between 44 and 98 thousand people die annually from medical errors, some of which are associated with the illegible handwriting of a doctor. It has been proven that using EHR reduces medical errors due to rapid access to the description of the drug prescribed by the doctor and the latest methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Currently, in the United States, electronic records are represented by two separate documents: the Electronic health record (EHR) and the Electronic medical record (EMR). The electronic medical record (EMR) is a legal document created in hospitals and clinics for a single electronic health record system.
EHR is an electronic medical record that contains patient examination data in all medical institutions: university clinics, hospitals, physician offices, etc. It allows patients, physicians, insurance company, and other paramedical organizations to be admitted through a certain set of identifications to the medical record system.
In Australia, an electronic medical record, HealthConnect, was created to centralize data on municipalities and the entire country. There is also a separate document called the "electronic treatment report" - MediConnect. This document was created to reduce medical errors associated with incorrect prescription of a drug.
All EHR systems have a similar structure, with a fixed number of components that can be customized for your healthcare organization. All of them can be integrated with the current programs to correspond to all business needs and support the company's development.
Clinical Data
Repository
The Clinical Data Repository is the central element of EHR software. All patient data is stored in this block. It includes information about medical history, medications and allergies, immunization records, lab results, and demographics. A clinical data repository should be made in a format that allows data to be shared with other clinics and hospitals. It could be needed in an emergency or in cases when the patient changes his or her doctor. As a centralized source of patient data, the repository allows doctors to make more informed decisions when prescribing treatment. At the same time, the information must be rigorously protected so the patient feels at ease about his or her personal data.
A clinical data repository is also a source of reports to analyze population health and quality improvement overall.
Decision Support
System
A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is a computer-based system that contains information and tools to help doctors make better decisions about patient care. CDSSs can be integrated into electronic health records or stand-alone systems. An EHR developer can connect a new EHR system with the existing CDSS and migrate the data. A major advantage of CDSS is that it alerts doctors if medications are incompatible or if a patient has an allergy. In some cases, the template can be customized to speed up the process of patient examination and prescribing medications. Overall, this program reduces the risk of medical errors by providing doctors with timely and accurate information.
Order Entry System
Equipping a hospital with medical supplies is essential for timely patient care. The order entry system monitors the availability of tests, medications, dressings, and other consumables. Different types of medical staff (like doctors, nurses, and pharmacists) can use this system for their purposes. Hospitals can also use this system for tracking orders. If a medicine is close to running out, the system will send a notification and recommend reordering it.
Patient Portal
Patients also want access to their data. This need can be met by designing a website where a patient can log in via username and password. Usually, patient portals enable people to view medical records like past and future doctor visits, lab results, prescriptions, and other useful information. A good patient portal also enables patients to create personalized reports, communicate with clinics to ask questions, request appointments, or refill prescriptions. It is especially useful when users can schedule their own appointments, which reduces the workload on healthcare providers by automating tasks. The website can also be supplemented with a health blog to expand clients' knowledge about healthy lifestyles and timely medical care.
Reporting System
The EHR reporting system can provide a variety of reports depending on the collected data. For example, population health reports (including the prevalence of chronic diseases and the utilization of healthcare services), quality improvement reports (i.e., patient outcomes and compliance with clinical guidelines), and financial reports (revenue and expenses). Reporting systems also enable patient reports in the user's account.
Administrative
Processes
EHR systems digitalize most of the communication between patient and clinic and between clinic and clinic. They reduce risks of delays and errors, automates routine tasks, and speed up the whole process; for example, they can provide prepared answers from the FAQs section. As a result, patients are more satisfied with the service and the clinic's reputation, which leads to higher revenues.
Together, these components form an electronic health records system. The software can also be customized so that other needed programs at a particular clinic or organization can be added. Customized EHR systems will have a unique functional design that is easy to navigate by its users. Overall, when all blocks work correctly, EHR becomes an indispensable assistant in daily working processes.
Before the development begins, an EHR developer should study the business processes at the particular clinic, understand its strengths and weaknesses, and propose the best custom solution. Business analysts and project managers are usually involved in this preparatory process.
Business Analysis and Solution SearchingIn the first stage, the EHR developer collects all information about the future project. He or she needs to know the company's current situation, aims, and plans. It is worth clarifying the level of security and data protection that is expected. Also, developers must know which programs will be integrated with the EHR system. With all these things in place, the developer can present the vision for the project.
Development and Installation
Every component of the EHR system should be negotiated, since custom software allows the adding or deleting of blocks, expanding functionality, or discarding unnecessary details. Depending on the system's complexity, development can take up to 24 months. The implementation process also takes time, because the EHR developer must ensure the data migration goes smoothly and without losses.
Data MigrationData migration is the most sensitive process in EHR development. In the United States, the security and confidentiality of medical data are regulated by HIPAA. A skilled EHR developer should be familiar with all HIPPA requirements and carefully transfer all documents, files, and other personal information to new, reliable storage. The safety of personal data is vital to the clinic's reputation.
Testing and Checkout
At this stage, Quality Assurance (QA) can be added to the project. With everything set up in one place, the EHR developer will check that the software works correctly. He or she tests links between different system parts, controls the ability to receive and add any data, and sees that all parts of the system respond to a high level of security and work well together.
Support and Update
New technologies and security protocols in healthcare are constantly introduced, so all EHR systems should be upgraded from time to time. A reliable EHR developer is always in touch with advances and can update software to meet the most recent standards. It is better when one developer accompany the program throughout its lifecycle.
User Training and Documentation
All employees should be familiar with a new system and new security requirements in the EHR software. Only strong knowledge of new functions can lead to achieving all possible benefits from the system. Feedback from colleagues is also important to improve and upgrade the system over time.
An EHR developer is heavily involved in the whole process, from ideation and application to further consultations. This specialist should be ready for long-term projects with a high level of immersion in customer requirements. Therefore, the choice of a respectable professional is highly important.
Choosing between a freelancer and a dedicated EHR developer is important. It's crucial that you can rely on your developer and that he or she is competent enough to finish the project and meet your highest expectations. We believe the choice is clear: A dedicated EHR developer is the most reliable option and has the support of a team that can work on the most complicated projects. Let's see the benefits of using a dedicated EHR developer.
If you want to be a priority for the developer, we advise you to find an IT partner between dedicated specialists. Freelancers are appealing for their flexibility and lower costs, but they usually work on several projects simultaneously, so it's hard to be sure that your EHR system is a priority. Also, freelancers are not an optimal choice for security reasons.
Of course, freelancers are attractive because of lower costs. Nevertheless, in a long-term partnership, this benefit loses value. Usually, a freelancer needs more time to build a project. Also, he or she may not have competence in narrow spheres. Conversely, a dedicated EHR developer always has a team nearby and can provide a consultation for complicated tasks. This advantage leads to faster problem-solving and better decision-making. As a result, the client receives customized software of higher quality.
Dedicated EHR developers are trained to fully understand your business processes and work closely with your team. Usually, company that have experienced a dedicated team installation respond positively and come back with new projects.
Working with freelancers means you can't completely avoid the risk that they lose motivation to work on your project. Sometimes it is hard to estimate the development and implementation terms, especially when you as a customer make edits to requirements as development progresses. Dedicated ERP developers are ready for these changes. They normally use the Agile software development methodology, in which updated requirements and plans can be changed from release to release.
If you are unsure about the specialist or the team you're considering, ask them to show their portfolio and provide reviews of their work. Experienced developers protect their reputations, so you should easily find this information. If you're going to work with a talented young specialist who doesn't have a portfolio, ask them for a short demonstration to see the quality of their work. Also, consider conducting a technical interview to assess their skills as a developer.
Whether you choose a freelancer or a dedicated EHR developer, it's important to clearly spell out all rights and obligations in the contract. You should be sure that both sides understand the guidelines and expectations for the final result. This is the only way to ensure your project will be a success.
Current trends make clear that healthcare will be more digitized and automated in the future. EHR systems are constantly being developed with new programs and functions integrated. Let's take a look at the current trends in this sphere.
The main idea behind EHR is to be universal for most clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations. This means achieving not only technical compatibility but also the same security standard for all company involved. To efficiently capture and share patient data, healthcare providers need certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) that stores data in a structured format. Structured data allows healthcare providers to easily retrieve and transfer patient information and use the EHR in ways that can aid patient care. These standards are constantly updated to involve more providers and to comply with all laws and regulations.
Patients prefer using mobile apps to monitor their personal information. Apps also make it convenient to schedule a visit to the doctor whenever needed. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology encourages the implementation of standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) into EHRs. APIs integrated with EHR technology improve communication between IT systems and applications that create or store medical information. The global trend of moving from computers to smartphones influences EHR systems and gives developers more experience in mobile software applications.
The work of EHR systems is highly connected to analyzing large amounts of data. Of course, integrating AI in this process will save time and help practitioners make more informed decisions. The second way to integrate AI into healthcare is by training it to provide tips for treating the most common diseases and advice or options for complicated cases. It's already quite common to use AI in daily, routine tasks, and EHR systems surely will use AI to speed up internal processes.
By collecting and analyzing large amounts of data with AI, the quality of reports will improve significantly. AI will advance our knowledge about population healthcare and demographic situations. Healthcare strategies at the government level can be improved, which will influence the quality of daily medical services. Personalized patient care plans are also part of the future, as the resources freed from routine tasks can be directed toward providing higher- quality personal medical services.
We can already see how these tendencies are evolving: They are all integrated into modern software development. Standardization helps us cope with a huge amount of data, and we teach AI to analyze it. Of course, healthcare has always been a sensitive sphere with unpredictable anomalies, but modern developers and scientists hope that these advancements will help humanity find treatments for the least-explored diseases. And the development of EHR systems, with their ability to compare and analyze, will help speed such advancements into the future.
As a leading Healthcare Software Development Company, iWeb-Soft assists hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities to streamline operations, enhance patient care, and improve overall efficiency. Having completed over 45 projects for diverse organizations, we have considerable expertise in developing custom healthcare software solutions tailored to each company's objectives and abilities. Our EHR developers provide ongoing support to the project from the idea to realization and beyond with updates. We have:
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