Date of Defense

2-28-2023

Date of Graduation

4-2023

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Karen Schieman

Second Advisor

Gayle Ruggiero

Abstract

A universal electronic medical record (EMR) is a platform where all of a patient's medical information, history, and data is stored and maintained by providers over time. A universal platform allows all of the medications, tests, procedures, labs, scans, notes, and any other clinical information for that patient to be kept in a record for any provider to view and make changes to while under their care. Although in the United States today, as well as many other countries, EMRs are owned and operated by privately ran businesses and institutions. Only the private institutions that have access to the EMR can input new information and view previous history. The goal of this project was to get a better understanding of what healthcare providers think of such a system and assist in improving the current system. Throughout this project participants were asked for their opinions about costs, impact on patient care, time savings, and convenience to patients and providers with a universal system. Along with that, potential drawbacks such as privacy problems, security issues, cost of implementation, or extensive training and learning for a new system were also looked at. The benefits and drawbacks regarding these topics were explored through scholarly literature research and explained throughout the project. Also, surveys were given to a wide range of providers with questions that explore their opinion on the system, and if converting to one is a reasonable idea. The findings generated many interesting viewpoints and comments on the idea of universal EMRs. Overall, many providers thought the idea of a universal EMR system had many benefits, but many concerns arose when questions were asked about the implementation process and privacy issues. The qualitative responses at the end of the survey conveyed both perceived benefits and drawbacks to the use of universal EMRs.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

Additional Files
Thesis Presentation.pdf (782 kB)
Defense Presentation
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