Our healthcare facility uses Wireless Access for Health (WAH) as our EMR. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using EMR over paper-based medical records based on my observations.
Good
1. Enables centralized management of patient records, all relevant patient information can be stored/found in the EMR
2. Patient records can be accessed anywhere, as long as there is internet and desktop/laptop/tablet with Google Chrome
3. Reports for public health programs such as Maternal and Child Care, Family Planning, and Adolescent Health can be easily generated in the EMR
4. Ensures security and privacy of data (better than paper-based system) through data encryption, role-based access, and automatic account controls
5. Enables our healthcare facility and healthcare workers to receive direct reimbursement from PhilHealth for the services we provided to PhilHealth members. This will not be possible if our facility is only using paper-based medical records since PhilHealth requires a facility to have a functional EMR in order to be an accredited healthcare provider.
Bad
1. EMR is more expensive than paper-based system because we have to invest in the software, hardware, and maintenance cost of the system
2. Needs electricity and internet to function. If any of these became unavailable, we will not be able to access the EMR
3. Requires training and hiring of additional personnel with IT background since we do not have enough personnel who can manage the system
4. Patient records can be exposed to cyberattacks
5. Using EMR can be time-consuming, especially when PhilHealth started to require every member to do liveness check every time they avail a service with their accredited healthcare provider