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During the 2008 Presidential election, candidate's discussions of health care were a major piece of their campaign’s platform. In addition to discussing things like HMOs, public options, the benefits and drawbacks of socialized heath care and many other concerns, the manner in which the country's health records are managed was brought up repeatedly. President Obama once noted that you can track a UPS package with far more success than an individual's health care history. One practical solution to this problem is to adopt an electronic health record keeping system. There are myriad advantages to adopting a system like this.

Programs that allow physicians and hospitals to keep electronic records are tremendously user-friendly and affordable enough for even the smallest of practices. There are a number of systems out there that seem complicated or confusing but if you choose wisely you will be able to find one that is simple and effective, allowing you to manage the changes and history of each of your patients. This allows you to rest assured that each patient you treat has an accurate and detailed history. When a patient's personal and treatment history is organized and recorded with great detail, it is much more likely that the patient will get the optimum amount of care and attention, the appropriate drugs and procedures. Plus, there will be less confusion surrounding insurance coverage and other such issues. An electronic health record ensures that the people you treat will get the best possible treatment with least amount of errors.

Another one of the many advantages of a health management system is efficiency. With centrally located information on all of your patients, you will be far less likely to waste time looking at outdated charts and files. The expediency of these systems cannot be overstated. Everybody knows someone that writes like a doctor; you can’t read their writing and it is very frustrating. Just think that a doctor’s writing could affect someone’s care. Electronic records solve the problem as charts and reports are typed rather than hand written. Imagine having everything you needed to know about a patient on one screen, available instantly and organized in such a way that it is almost impossible to misinterpret or omit any critical information. This is the sort of system that your staff will be able to use as soon as your patient arrives for his or her appointment.

These systems do away with the stressful and often confusing conversion process that most people using electronic record keeping systems typically have to deal with. Another advantage is that some of the best of these programs are absolutely free. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on high priced electronic health record system software, you can invest that money back to where it should go—into your practice—and train your staff on an easy-to-understand system that will change the way that you practice medicine and care for your patients. This is a small financial investment, but a tremendous investment in terms of its ability to change the way that you and your staff take care of the sick and heal those who seek your help.