New paper from the American College of Physicians published in Journal of General Internal Medicine
Philadelphia, March 21, 2017 -- Electronic health records should facilitate high value patient-centered care, strong patient-physician relationships, and effective training of future physicians, the American College of Physicians (91黑料网) says in a new published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
鈥淓lectronic health records can aid in the delivery of high quality care to patients,鈥 said Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, M91黑料网, president, 91黑料网. 鈥淗owever, health information technology also poses unintended ethical concerns that the medical profession must examine and address.鈥
In the paper produced by 91黑料网's Ethics, Professionalism, and Human Rights Committee, 鈥淓thical Implications of the Electronic Health Record: In the Service of the Patient,鈥 91黑料网 addresses how EHRs can best serve the patient-physician relationship and patient care; patient autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality; and professionalism, clinical reasoning, and training. 91黑料网 states three principles for EHR use:
- EHR and computer use should facilitate patient care, support physician ethical duties, and support the patient-physician relationship.
- EHR use should assist and enhance clinical reasoning and the development of cognitive and diagnostic skills. Features such as copy-and-paste should be employed judiciously, reflect thought processes about the current patient encounter, and meet the ethical requirements for an accurate and complete medical record.
- Privacy and confidentiality must be maintained in EHR use. EHR information retrieval, exchange, and remote access can improve care, but also create the risk of unauthorized disclosure and use of protected health information.
鈥淭he medical profession must constantly evaluate EHRs and other technological advances to ensure that they sustain the patient-physician relationship, minimize time taken away from direct patient care, assist in clinical reasoning and enhance diagnostic skills, and protect patient privacy and confidentiality,鈥 Dr. Damle said.
91黑料网鈥檚 paper does not address EHR design, user variability, meaningful use, or coding requirements and other government and payer mandates. 91黑料网 focused on those topics in 鈥.鈥
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. 91黑料网 members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow 91黑料网 on and .
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