Public Health EHRs

What is EMR in Public Health?

In public health, Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are digital versions of paper-based patient records that health care providers use to document patient information over time. 

EMRs help in improving the quality of care and efficiency when it comes to Public health centers in the US. As healthcare evolves, Public Health sector has had to evolve with it (especially with the recent COVID epidemic) and provide the best in identifying at-risk populations and design targeted health interventions, such as vaccination campaigns or health screenings, improving overall community health.

If you're looking for the best EMRs in Public Health Sector then we'll take the liberty of providing features and benefits of having them for your medical institution. 

How is EHR used in Public Health?

Offering a more holistic view of patient data is always able to provide public health centers with actionable insights to make the best decision for disease prevention and patient care. EHR provides this instantly and on the spot. There are other ways an EHR is used in Public Health Care:

Improving Public Health Surveillance

EHRs contribute significantly to public health surveillance systems in the following ways:

• Monitor disease trends
• Detect Outbreaks
• Track spread of infectious diseases in real-time. 

This can be critical during public health emergencies, such as pandemics or flu seasons, where timely data is essential for quick response.

Chronic Disease Management

Public health programs use EHR data to track and manage chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease across populations. 

By analyzing patterns in patient health records, public health officials implement specialised programs that help reduce the chance of contracting these diseases, improving outcomes of patients in the same way.

Immunization Tracking and Management

EHRs play a key role in managing vaccination records. Public health systems can use EHR data to ensure that individuals are up-to-date on their vaccination coverage, and quickly identify gaps in their processes.

This is especially important in preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and COVID-19 to name a few.

Population Health Management

Public health authorities use EHR data to identify high-risk populations and develop targeted interventions. For example, EHRs help track the prevalence of certain conditions in specific communities, enabling public health professionals to address social determinants of health, improve healthcare access, and reduce disparities in health outcomes.

Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness

EHRs provide critical information during public health crises and disasters. In emergencies, such as hurricanes, pandemics, or bioterrorism events, EHR data helps identify at-risk individuals, ensure continuity of care, and track the distribution of healthcare resources, including vaccines, medications, and medical supplies.

Behavioral Health and Mental Health Monitoring

Public health programs can also use EHRs to track behavioral and mental health issues at the population level. By analyzing trends in mental health visits, medication prescriptions, and related factors, public health officials can allocate resources effectively and develop programs to address mental health challenges.

Benefits of having an EHR in a Public Health Center

A Modern Research Assistant

Closely linked to the previous matter is your research. For accurate research projects, you need accurate data, relevant to the topic you’re busy with. A general system won’t provide you with the features to collect this data. You need a customizable EHR system.

You also need research appropriate features. One handy tool is identifying patients on your system that adhere to certain guidelines. If you’re launching a clinical trial you want to be able to easily source appropriate candidates. You can do this manually, but that will take much more time. Investing in a ‘smarter’ EHR from the very start will save you time (therefore money) in the long run.

High end public health EMR serve as basis for population level research as they provide data for analysis. A system assists in collecting it and ensuring quality, as digitized data is less prone to human error. 

Registration Portal is Vital

In the public health arena you need to engage with LHDs all the time. You know they have unique requirements, so make sure your EHR won’t hamper this process. 

For starters you need to consider different scales for payment. An effective Public Health EMR system will automatically allocate a patient according to family income. 

For this process you need personal information. Ideally, ensure you can collect this information in a secure manner, with confirmation from the patient that he or she supplied the correct data. An electronic signature pad is a handy (and valuable) investment. 

All Forms on Hand

You know how many standardized forms the public health sector works with and your EHR can help you manage this better. Instead of wasting time and paper by printing multiple forms, you can simply access the appropriate one where it’s stored on your EHR system. This includes forms on:

• BCCCP (Breast Cancer Cervical Cancer Screening program)
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Adult Health
• TB Clinical Forms and more

The bonus is that a form filled in on the EHR system offers the data up for use immediately after submission (instead of an office worker entering it into the network later on, taken from a written document). The data becomes part of their patient files, but is also available to use in reporting if needed.

Remember: Manual entering of details always carries the risk of human error, no matter how well trained your staff is. 

Be Mobile and in the Cloud

You won’t always have the luxury of working from an office and with modern technology this doesn’t matter as much. You can still access vital information about patients, diseases or other data, as long as you have an appropriate device and an internet connection. 

To make this happen, ensure your vendor uses a cloud-based system, instead of you hosting your data on servers on your premises. Ideally you also must be able to access information via any device:

This means less of an investment in hardware because all your staff can instantly use the new EHR features via their personal devices. 

Important: General Features You Can’t Go Without

Of course you also have to rate the system in general. This will affect how quickly you can integrate this into your functioning, as well as how it will be received by your peers or employees. These features matter to most teams:

• The user-friendliness of the system and the intuitiveness of the layout
• Quality of customer service so you can ask questions whenever you have a problem
• Support services to limit downtime
• Cost compared to list of features so you get value for money and can show sponsors that money is spent wisely
• Training provided by the vendor will keep your learning curve short

ICD 10 codes loaded so you can request claims faultlessly and quickly without the need to look up any details

It’s clear that no public health system should be without an EHR system. But pick wisely to ensure long term success for your projects.