The New Paperless World Of Medical Records

A conversation with Dr Pakhi Sharma

Much has been said about and even joked about doctors’ handwriting and how they like to maintain their records. But the illegibility of handwritten prescriptions and non-standard documentation is a point of concern when it comes to healthcare.?

But this is precisely where Electronic Medical Records (EMR) as a concept came to be. They can help in cutting down costs, saving on storage, and providing increased security for patient information. It can also assist in ensuring better access to patient history, especially when seeing multiple doctors.

While we at Phablecare already had a web version for EMR, we’re now launching the upgraded EMR feature for the doctor’s app. This is aimed at simplifying processes and documentation for Phable doctors. This feature has all aspects of the paper-based medical record organised in the natural flow of how a doctor consults with a patient -- from relevant information on vitals to clinical history to the actual diagnosis, investigation and medication.

We caught up with Dr Pakhi Sharma to get insight into exactly what EMR is and how Phable’s upgraded EMR feature is a commendable leap - from a doctor’s perspective.?

Why do you think that Phable’s upgraded EMR feature is relevant?

I have worked with the product team on the development of the upgraded EMR feature over the last 2-3 months, and it closely resembles how we doctors like to write our prescriptions. But it has also been adapted for the digital health setup. The flow of information is still preserved, but there are also additional sections that will prompt the doctor to give more details.?

The sections include patient demographic, chief complaints, patient history, vital readings, required investigations, probable diagnosis, and medication and advice. So that flow is maintained quite well.?

The layout of the EMR feature is also quite minimal, just like what doctors are used to.?

How do you think EMR is different from paper-based patient records?

What separates the feature is how there is a little bubble, separately, for relevant supporting information like vitals and history. This may be filled up by a doctor or their staff before meeting the patient. This is included in the same section, but it doesn't disrupt the flow of headings.?

If you compare it to a plain piece of paper, where one would write the vitals, that's exactly where the feature is kept. So that's great.?

A lot of space is also kept within the feature so that it looks like a blank page. So it makes it much easier to write, in the same way, that one would do on real paper. But it can also be segregated in a much more neat manner. And there are also visual cues for writing different information, which will motivate a doctor to document information in a better manner.?

What do you think are some problems that this will help in solving??

It is extremely helpful in hospitals and helps save time as well. Doctors will be less likely to miss out on information because there are clear prompts to get all the information from the headings.?

Lack of documentation or poor documentation is something that a lot of patients may experience. Certain doctors may have a habit of writing the bare minimum in their files, without any elaboration. But this feature gives them a visual cue that will prompt them to include the necessary information. In addition to providing better support when it comes to patient history, this will also protect the doctors medico-legally, since the information is much more detailed. It is also helping to standardise the procedure.?

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With this upgraded EMR feature, we are moving towards standardisation and simplifying the maintenance of prescriptions and records. In the long term, this will make it easier for both patients and doctors to maintain all relevant medical information. With doctors being able to do it using the Phable Doctor App too - the transition to adopting EMR because even it's a rather smooth transition from Mobile to their desktop.

It has been created to help doctors provide better care, with a richer and comprehensive understanding of patient history, while also making it easier for them - since they need not always carry a laptop around to access the EMR software, which is now on a simple app on their phone?

How do you think a standardised and intuitive EMR feature can help medical practitioners to provide better digital healthcare to patients??

Drop a comment and let us know.??