The document discusses the choice between storing health data for an elderly dementia patient in a paper chart or electronic health record (EHR). The author would prefer an EHR because it allows authorized providers to easily access secure patient information and make care decisions. However, EHRs raise ethical concerns about privacy and legal risks of data errors leading to wrong treatment. While EHRs can improve patient safety through alerts and access to records, their use for dementia patients requires policies to address privacy and security issues.

1. Dr. Obumneke Amadi-Onuoha_scripts_ 8
Three Abbreviated Research Plans
Principles/Medical Informatics: Electronic health records what are they good for?
Case Discussion : My elderly parent with dementia.
Would You Prefer that the Health Data for the Person You Selected be Stored in a Paper
Chart or an Electronic Health Record?
In acknowledgement, patient records also referred as patient charts, comprise of all the
data acquired and created through a patient’s course in healthcare system (Shortliffe, & Cimino,
2014, p.447). The major purpose of the patient record is to recall observations, to inform others,
to gain knowledge, to monitor performance and to justify information’s, all with the goal to
improve the well-being of the patients during care (Shortliffe, & Cimino, 2014, p.447). An
Electronic Health Record (EHR), is electronically maintained to store these information’s, with
the capability to serve multiple authorized /legitimate users of the records (e.g. providers across
diverse healthcare settings). It has health information management tools that provides clinical
reminders, alerts, aggregated analyzed data for care management, and links to knowledge
sources that may guide provider to health care decision making. Based on these descriptions,
and usability of the EHR tool, I would prefer to store my patient data as an elderly dementia
patient in an EHR system because, dementia condition involves cognitive impairment, with
symptoms that include memory loss, personality changes, and issues with language,
communication, and thinking, and EHR would be suitable to support care providers to
implement better care plans and decisions towards their patient care. Inaccessibility are major
drawbacks for paper records (paper records are most available when discharge is completed and
signed off), while it is the opposite for EHR, where, patients’ documentations are available, and

2. secured to be retrieved by authorized personnel only (Shortliffe, & Cimino, 2014, p. 447-.452).
HER promotes patient’s privacy and, informs patients progress in care during treatment.
What Are the Ethical and Legal Considerations of Your Choice?
The ethical consideration of using EHR for an adult dementia patient may be linked to
the issue of lack of confidence in the security of the system having their data that may lead to
abused autonomy, where the patients’ health data are shared without their knowledge or consent
from family member/s or authorized care provider. With legal consideration, there is the risk of
confusing a patients' health data through chart errors, that may compromise their treatments that
practically may cause catastrophic adverse events such as death or disability from wrongful
diagnosis and medication, consequently leading to lawsuit from family members. Therefore,
health providers and policy makers should deliberate the ethical consequences of EHRs and
implement policies in this respect not limited with for this age group with dementia health cases
(Ozair, Jamshed, Sharma, & Aggarwal, 2015).
How Does Your Choice Potentially Impact the Ability to Improve Health Delivery or
Patient Outcomes?
There are many examples by which EHR can reduce errors, improve patient safety, and
support better patient outcome they include the following:
 only authorized personnel can have access to patient data.
 EHR has strong encryption protocols make sure that private patient information
stays secure.
 Errors or tampered records can be easy to detect and corrected.
 Health records of patient data, can be maintained in a secure backup, allowing the
providers to quickly recover after a data disaster.

3.  It automatically monitors / checks for problems whenever there is new treatment
administrations and alerts the clinician to potential conflicts.
 EHR informs “a clinician in the emergency department about a patient's life-
threatening events, and emergency staff can adjust care appropriately, even if the
patient is unconscious” (Health IT.gov, 2017).
 Expedites doctor’s office visit, no forms filled.
 Reliable and convenient point-of-care information and reminders advising
providers of important health interventions
 Electronic referrals allowing easier access to follow-up care with specialists and
e-prescriptions refills in pharmacy
(Health IT.gov, 2017; O'Connor, 2014).
Reference
Health IT.gov (2017). Improved Patient Care Using EHRs. Retrieved from
https://www.healthit.gov/topic/health-it-basics/improved-patient-care-using-ehrs
O'Connor, S. (2014). 5 Reasons Why Electronic Health Records are More Secure than Paper
Records. Retrieved from https://www.adsc.com/blog/5-reasons-why-electronic-health-
records-are-more-secure-than-paper-records
Ozair, F. F., Jamshed, N., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015). Ethical issues in electronic health
records: A general overview. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 6(2), 73–76.
http://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.153997
Shortliffe, E. H., & Cimino, J. J. (2014). Chapters 12 and 21: Biomedical informatics: Computer

4. applications in health care and biomedicine. 3rd edition. Springer, ISBN 0-387-28986-0