- Regional Extension Center
Two recent studies showed that electronic health records improve medical care – a trend that regional physicians are also seeing, said Josue Rodas, executive director of UCF Regional Extension Center which helps doctors go paperless.
In two separate studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association one study found that the use of electronic health records cut down on diabetes patients needing emergency room visits, and another study in Finland found that an electronic monitoring program on children’s growth helped detect growth disorders earlier.
In an interview with WMFE FM 90.7 News, Rodas said he has seen similar positive impacts on patient care from Central Florida physicians using electronic records.
Electronic records improve communication between patients and physicians, and provide more coordinated care as doctors can easily and safely share information on a patient’s condition, test results and treatments.
“What we are looking at are the early beginnings of an interconnected, modernized, vastly improved healthcare delivery system where providers have information at their fingertips to provide quality, efficient and cost effective care,” Rodas said told WMFE.
The UCF Regional Extension Center is part of the UCF College of Medicine and it has been helping physicians transition to electronic health records since 2009. The center is one of 62 RECs established nationwide to help primary care providers adopt, implement and reach meaningful use of electronic health records. It serves seven Central Florida counties including Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties.
Study results:
Use of Electronic Health Records for Automated Screening of Growth Disorders in Primary Care