Having reliable information on a patient’s medical history can make the difference in providing the best possible medical care. With electronic health records (EHRs), healthcare providers can access a patient’s detailed history quickly and easily. Since 2012, EHRs have become a critical part of all health systems and they have allowed for a significant improvement in patient outcomes, by allowing for medical providers to share and access data and information quickly and seamlessly. 

What are EHRs?

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are real-time digital records of a patient's medical history that are readily available to authorized users. EHRs contain detailed information on patients such as:

• Laboratory results 
• Diagnoses 
• Vital signs
• Allergies
• Medications
• Billing data
• Records of immunizations and procedures

EHRs can speed up workflow by providing easy access to tools that help ensure the best decisions are made regarding a patient’s care. With reliable information available at the fingertips of healthcare providers, the overall outlook for the patient is greatly increased. In fact, a survey done by the US National Center for Health Statistics revealed that 75% of all providers believe that they were able to provide better care to patients with EHRs. Simply put, EHRs improve diagnoses because they compile all of a patient’s relevant medical information into a single place, so the patient and his or her doctor can always access it and use it to inform future medical decisions. 

Turn on at-home diagnostic testing for your patients 

If healthcare providers already use EHRs, it is easy to integrate existing systems to enable at-home healthcare. Healthcare providers can integrate EHRs with at-home health platforms by storing a patient’s health records in an online portal, accessible to both the patient and the physician. The patient’s medical history can be used to inform diagnostic health testing needs and other major medical decisions. If anything changes, it can be quickly and easily updated in the patient portal. This allows patients to quickly view test results and communicate with their doctors in a platform where both parties have access to all of the most current, relevant information. 

The real beauty of having EHRs and using an at-home diagnostic testing platform is the ability for the patient to have all of their interactions, testing and diagnosis done from home while seamlessly having the information added to their EHR. Leading platforms, like Ash, have HIPAA compliant technology to fully integrate with patient records. This means that technology and connectivity can allow for patients to have the perfect experience with the doctor, from their home, while being confident that all of the information and data is made available to all of the doctors and physicians in their care cycle.