Benefits of Electronic Health Records for Navy Sailors

📌Category: Health, Medicine, Science, Technology
📌Words: 803
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 14 January 2022

Introduction

As the information technology (IT) world continues to build momentum, revolutionary advancements within the healthcare industry are experiencing exceptional growth with electronic health records (EHRs). However, the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) is behind the curve in integrating the advances foreseen outside of its entity to within its own infrastructure. Currently, the Navy operates a counterproductive system of utilizing both paper records and EHRs to document patient data. Eliminating the necessity for paper records and strategically investing towards a sole EHR system, such as Military Health System (MHS) GENESIS, should improve the overall workflow by cutting down administrative costs, prevent record handling errors, and allot additional manhours for other duties. 

Background

During Barrack Obama’s presidency, he signed “the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 [as] an ambitious policy effort to increase the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs)” (Adler-Milstein and Jha 1416). However, the push for EHRs within the military started “in January 2004, ... [with the] implementation of the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), DoD’s global electronic health record” (Bigelow et al. iii). Although EHRs have been incorporated within the military, well before the wide push compared to its civilian counterparts, the Navy has not fully separated away from using paper records to this day. Chapter 16 of the Manual of the Medical Department (MANMED), NAVMED P-117, paved the foundation for using paper records in the Navy. This policy applies to all USN medical departments and covers medical data for USN and USMC members, their dependents, civilian contractors, and other beneficiaries; medical information is maintained by both medical and dental facilities (MTFs and DTFs), in the form of paper and electronic layouts (Manual of the Medical Department 16-3). Greater strides towards the military investing in a reliable EHR system is essential to supplying the demands of modernization and maintain dominance within the digital era.

Side A

Due to the capacity associated with upkeeping paper records, EHRs are the obvious solution towards increasing the workforce efficiency of the USN. The civilian sector has seen positive feedback from the 2011 Physician Workflow study, as “most physicians with EHRs reported EHR use enhanced patient care overall (78 percent), helped them access a patient’s chart remotely (81 percent), and alerted them to a potential medication error (65 percent) and critical lab values (62 percent)” (King et al. 392). Navy personnel will benefit from treatment delays associated with potential discrepancies in paper records while EHRs allow greater “access to clinical information across the continuum of care to support provider decision making [and increase] medication safety [with] fewer adverse drug events” (Bell & Thornton 52). Additionally, Jamoom et al. writes, when “regarding specific financial benefits, about 70% of physicians, regardless of EHR adoption status, agreed that EHR use leads to cost savings associated with managing and storing paper” (35).

Side B

Despite a paperless record system, few will argue the security concerns associated with a digital approach and promote greater resistance from leaders. Patient privacy has developed a concerning issue inside the U.S. with “more than 1,000 large health data breaches by health care providers and affiliated vendors involving 500 or more individuals [being] reported to the government since 2009” (Goforth 1). According to a National Public Radio poll, Americans were doubtful of confidentiality as “seventy-six percent said it's "somewhat" or "very likely" an unauthorized person would get access to EHRs” (Anonymous 11). This rising fear could set forth a major pushback to EHR implementation from promising advisers and promote oppositions from healthcare providers. Resistance could reflect a lack of appreciation to a new system; disruption to daily routine; lack of adjustment; excess workload entries; and a fear of slower efficiency, adding to their notion of feeling overexerted (Woody II e1524).

Possible Solutions

Ongoing and increased government support will generate a fluid EHR that will follow a service member’s career from basic training to the transition of continued medical treatment at the Veteran’s Affairs (VA). The health information technology-based company, Cerner Corporation, is increasing interoperability within the U.S. military and VA as “the agency is aligning the deployment of the VA’s Cerner system with DoD’s ongoing rollout of its own system—called MHS GENESIS, which has been deployed at four military sites in the Pacific Northwest” (Slabodkin 1). Although security concerns remain an underlying issue, further development that is geared towards a conventional system will constantly adapt to reinforce confidentiality as a top priority, especially when it pertains to government assets such as USN personnel. As Bell & Thornton states, “ … the reason for an EHR implementation is simple: It is the right thing to do for patients and a must for the hospital’s future” (56).

Conclusion

The progression of healthcare information technology is rapidly developing and the stipulation for paper records will become obsolete in the years to come. In the current state of handling patient data, a thorough assessment will provide an insight to the inadequacies that are delaying the process of improvement. As the momentum continues to tread towards the usage of EHRs, the Navy will need to accommodate the demands of the fleet by eradicating paper records entirely. The Navy will gain from a forceful representation of supporting agencies to generate administrative budget cuts, avoid the mishandling of records, and increase time management for collateral duties.

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