Ethics of Electronic Health Record Systems

Abstract

This article describes how healthcare and IT are combatting the ethical implications of electronic health records (EHRs) in order to make them adopted by over 90% of small practices. There is a lack of trust in EHRs and uneasiness about what they will accomplish. Furthermore, security concerns have become more prevalent as a result of increased hacker activity. The objective of this article is to analyze these ethical issues in an effort to eliminate them as a hinderance to EHR implementation. As of now, 98% of all hospitals use EHRs. Between 2009 and 2015, the government allocated money and resources for incentive programs to get EHRs into every healthcare providers' office. During this time period, over $800 million dollars facilitated EHR implementation. Using this as a tool EHRs negative perception can be revitalized and combated with the meaningful use program. This article will highlight the ethical implications of EHRs and suggest ways in which to avoid them to make EHRs available in every healthcare provider.