Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software systems hold a wealth of data across the care continuum. Healthcare providers, public health officials, and clinical researchers can use the accurate data from EHR Software to improve patient care and support public health and research to navigate healthcare challenges. According to the American Medical Informatics Association AMIA, healthcare data aids clinical informatics by being the “driving force”.
What is Clinical Informatics?
Clinical informatics is a multidisciplinary area that focuses on using data management and information technology to enhance patient care, healthcare delivery, and overall health outcomes. It is sometimes referred to as healthcare informatics or medical informatics.
To support clinical decision-making, improve the effectiveness of healthcare systems, and further medical research, entails the gathering, organizing, analyzing, and application of data and information relevant to health. Data science, information technology, and healthcare all converge in clinical informatics.
Increased Adoption of EHR Software and Informatics
There has been a widespread adoption of EMR software systems across the United States. Until the year 2021, almost 78% of office-based physicians and 96% of all non-federal acute care hospitals have deployed electronic health records solutions.
EMR software systems have accurate and up-to-date patient data comprising health history, progress notes, medications, vital signs, lab data, and radiology reports. With a greater adoption of EHR software clinicians can easily access this data for clinical decision support. Furthermore, improved and robust interoperability options support the seamless exchange of this data for care coordination.
Now there are greater opportunities for clinical researchers to leverage this data and make groundbreaking discoveries in healthcare that can benefit the world at large. Clinical informatics can use data from EMR Software in the following fields of use such as population health research and data analytics.
Using EMR Data for Population Health Management
To manage population health effectively, electronic health records software can combine and analyze data. This is critical for public health programs and the management of chronic illnesses. EHR data can be used by public health officials to identify at-risk populations and support chronic disease management, and preventive care.
Furthermore, the EMR system can create reports for public health authorities, assisting them in tracking disease outbreaks and other health-related events that are crucial for public health surveillance and response.
The use of Electronic Health Records Software for Health Data Analytics
By offering a complete preserve of patient health information, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software acts as a core resource for health data analytics. Healthcare organizations can get significant insights into patient populations, treatment outcomes, and disease trends by extracting, integrating, and analyzing EHR data.
Healthcare practitioners and researchers can improve efficiency, save costs, and improve overall healthcare outcomes by using EHR software for health data analytics.
