Background: Improving current and future healthcare is heavily reliant on continuous research and the secondary use of data from patients' medical records, particularly from electronic records. Considerable amounts of data are collected during the care and treatment of a patient, and this data can offer many opportunities, not only for supporting and improving individual patient care or making important contributions to research, but also for investigating causes of diseases, establishing the prevalence of risk factors, and identifying populations at risk of adverse outcomes. However, the management of such data poses challenges, which many believe can be mitigated by storing it electronically. The traditional method of storing medical information in a paper-based format has severe limitations, especially concerning the amount of effort needed to extract information. In contrast, data from electronic patient records (EPRs) is much easier to extract and allows healthcare professionals access to the information needed in a timely manner to provide appropriate care to patients and improve the public's health. The UK still faces the hurdle of balancing public interest with individual privacy. There is clearly a benefit regarding the use of EPRs but there is an increasing need for public education in order to be able to reap the maximum benefits they offer. This thesis examines the benefits and impact of EPRs in the contexts of clinical care and epidemiological and health services research. Methods: The methods used for this research project involved reviewing published materials available through electronic searching, grey literature and websites of bodies such as the Department of Health, and the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The use of the main national primary care databases and secondary care databases and their growth over time was also examined. Results: EPRs are extremely beneficial to research and have a significant potential to improve patient overall care. The use of EPRs is growing as technology advances and health systems move from paper to electronic records. Conclusions: The use of EPRs will only be successful when both the public, researchers and healthcare providers agree on their benefits. The use of EPRs will take healthcare to another level, where the accuracy of data entered is of very high quality and standardised, data security is well-controlled, and there is acceptance by the public concerning the use of their data both for providing clinical care and for other secondary uses.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:695539 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Gibson-White, Angela |
| Contributors | Majeed, Azeem |
| Publisher | Imperial College London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/41839 |
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