The widespread utilization of EHR adoption is imperative. With EHRs, careless medical errors can be prevented, administrative efficiencies will increase, unnecessary health care costs will be reduced and the overall quality of health will improve nationwide. Digitizing the entire medical record-keeping process is one of the largest goals of the Obama Administration and EHR adoption will continue to increase over the years to build a healthier future for our nation.

With the implementation of health information technology (health IT), it is feasible for physicians to better manage patient care through the secure use and sharing of patient health information. Health IT includes the use of electronic health records (EHRs) instead of paper-based medical records to maintain a patient’s health information.

With the implementation of an Electronic Health Record (EHR), physicians are able to provide higher quality and safer care to their patients. By utilizing an EHRin a meaningful way, physicians benefit by:

• Knowing more about their patients
• Making better decisions regarding patient treatments and care
• Improving office workflow and efficiency
• Reducing costs associated with the transportation of medical records, transcription costs, etc
• Increasing the quality of patient care
• Increasing the accessibility of charts
• Improving patient services and communications