The benefits of health information changes include; first, it allows for efficient treatment of the patients. There is faster turnaround time for results. Patients are also given medication quickly hence reducing chances of dying. Secondly, it is easier for consultations because physicians are able to access and view results from different location provided the computer can access her.
Thirdly, the number of duplicate tests is reduced (Amatayakul & Lazarus, 2005). Some of the challenges faced by health information exchanges include: incompatibility of the EHR systems as some are not able to share data with other computers. Another setback is that confidentiality is not ensured and patients fear and become worried of their medical secrets. Some hospitals have not adopted technological health record making it difficult for who travel to retrieve their records. Existence of non-interoperable EHR is a big challenge (Amatayakul M.
K., 2009). Organizations that offer personal health record services such as Advanced Data Systems Corporation and Med-sphere Systems Corporation must consider the following factors: consent of the patient, Provision of internet in case of web-based health record, security and confidentiality of patients’ health record. In addition, the qualities of personal health record such as accessibility, affordability and interoperability of personal health record are factors to be considered before its adoption.
