In the past 15-20 years, computer softwares and mobile apps have made themselves integral to every industry’s way of functioning. There has been a slow push towards using digital avenues for improving some aspects of the medical industry, like appointment schedules, medical records, and perhaps more recently, immunization records. Here are some immediately apparent benefits of digitizing vaccination records over conventional record-keeping, and how we landed here.
Problems With Paper
The reason for the push towards digitization in record-keeping probably began because of glaring problems that the paper-based system could not tackle. To put it simply, keeping the records on paper is inefficient.
As you might have already experienced firsthand during your practice, keeping physical records takes up lots of space. Additionally, paper isn’t the most durable of materials, and the records can end up being damaged. Store them incorrectly, and the ink can fade away. Handwritten records (even though anyone rarely keeps handwritten records nowadays) can also have readability issues.
The biggest problem with paper records looms above all the others – you can easily misplace them. Managing paper records is complicated and tedious by itself, and it becomes downright counterproductive when those records relate to children and their vaccinations.
Digitization in the medical field is becoming increasingly common.
Immunization records help you keep track of a child’s vaccine schedule, and when their next shot of what is due. If these records are physical, then it falls upon you and your staff to have them properly and accurately filled, recorded and stored safely. If a physical record is lost, and you’ve not taken backups of it, then you could lose access to information that is integral to the health of your patient.
An analog approach also means that you and the parent, both have to create individual systems to remember when to schedule appointments. It also forces both of you to communicate verbally to reach a consensus about when to hold the next appointment. It takes up more of your time and availability, not to mention space.
Due to these reasons and a few more, digital record-keeping of vaccinations scores over its analog counterpart.
Benefits Of Digitizing Vaccination Records
Perhaps the best example of a digitized vaccination system is the one India is currently following for the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s break down the advantages from there.
You Can Easily Update And Edit Records
Since your records will probably be on a software like Excel, they will remain editable. Unlike paper records, this record-keeping system is not destructive or wasteful. Plus, in a way, typing out the records and editing them if and when required reduces the margin of error in record-keeping.
Easy Access
Unlike with physical storage, the data is always accessible and not at all constrained by where you are or where the data is. No matter why you need to access it, you can easily pull up the records from a phone or laptop. Needless to say, with the unlimited space the internet provides, you will also be able to store more data virtually than you can physically.
Registration And Booking Happens Online
The very first step of any vaccination process is the registration or appointment. Normally, you would receive a call from the parent of your patient asking for an appointment. Then it would fall upon you to check for open slots in your day. The process is needlessly time-consuming and inefficient, more so once you experience the convenience of digitization.
A digital system will allow the child’s parent to book a slot online, blocking the time when you are unavailable. Additionally, depending on the type of digitization you opt for, you can have an automated system that sends out reminders to parents when their child’s next vaccination date is due. This is particularly beneficial for you as well as for the ever-flustered parents.
Easier For New Age Parents To Manage
As a pediatrician, you probably will realize that the parents of most of your patients are in their 20s and 30s now. They are more comfortable with using technology than the previous generations were. They are also likely to be more attuned to the ideas of online registration and digital vaccination records. Digital record-keeping for parents has heaps of benefits, several of which are similar to those that pediatricians enjoy.
Digitizing vaccination records using an app means you can access it anytime, anywhere.
How To Digitize The Vaccination Process
If you’ve been wondering what is a good way of digitizing your vaccination process, here are a few suggestions.
- Invest in learning a few new softwares like Microsoft Excel, or Google Sheets that can help with record-keeping. Though, you’ll have to create the system from scratch and learn the right formulae to benefit as much as possible.
- If you also want to venture into online appointment scheduling practices, then opt for Electronic Medical Software (EMR). There are some that are reasonably priced and suited for even the smallest organizations.
- You can also look into apps that help you reap the benefits of digitizing vaccination records. One of these is the ImmunifyMe app. It will let you create and manage appointments and vaccination schedules. You will also be able to do transactions, provide consultation via telemedicine, and create your whole database for vaccination on the app itself.
Conclusion
Digitization in the medical field has recently been getting a boost, with a push for digital health records under the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). More recently, the vaccination process for the COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumental in creating a positive example of the benefits of digitizing vaccination records. A similar digital framework of record-keeping for pediatricians is bound to bring a lot of efficiency to their lives.
FAQs On Benefits Of Digitizing Vaccination Records
How Do I Protect My Electronic Medical Records?
The simplest way of protecting your electronic medical records is to create them on softwares like Excel or Google sheets. However, the process becomes much more manual this way. If you want to avoid that then opt for Electronic Medical Software.
Why Is EMR Better Than Paper Records?
Some people fear that their medical records might be at risk when in digital format. However, the records are actually encrypted when they are stored. Paper records are much more likely to be stolen or damaged than digital records. Paper records are also more cumbersome to maintain.
What Information Does An EMR Contain?
Electronic medical records contain all the same information as a regular medical record. They can contain a patient’s general medical history, any primary illnesses, regular medications, treatment plans, allergy history, immunization dates, x-rays or other radiology images, and laboratory tests.
