Jill Schramm/MDN Dr. Vishal Chhibber of Sanford Health logs in March 15 to the Epic software system that serves as Sanford’s electronic medical records system.

One of the biggest innovations in medicine isn’t a new drug or even an advanced medical procedure.

Dr. Vishal Chhibber, a family medicine physician with Sanford Health’s Northwest Clinic in Minot, said electronic medical records are making a positive change in the health-care delivery system.

EMRs allow primary-care physicians like himself to track a patient’s medical history over time and get an overview of care provided by specialists, Chhibber said.

“It’s just easier for physicians to treat patients. I see a lot of pretty chronically ill patients so it’s nice to be able to pull up their cardiology notes, their pulmonary notes,” he said. “You are able to follow the patient a lot better.”

Heather Carlson, clinical operations director at Sanford’s Northwest Clinic in Minot, said electronic medical records benefit patients as well. EMRs allow patients to access their records or test results and communicate with the nursing staff if they have questions about their care or about symptoms they are having. A patient who communicates through the records system can get a response as quickly as with a phone call, and for some patients, it is a more convenient way of exchanging information, she said.

Chhibber added it gives patients more autonomy in their health care.

“It’s amazing. I wouldn’t want to go any other way. You can really learn a lot about a patient just going through their EMR rather than having all these charts,” he said. He added it reduces potential problems because the medical information is so available. Things don’t get overlooked as they might in depending on patients to recall details of their medical history.

EMRs offer ease of use through an interface that lets physicians find and access information quickly. Again, it avoids the need to page through a collection of paper records.

“EMRs hold physicians to a little higher standard,” Chhibber said. Because the records are accessible to all medical professionals associated with a patient’s care, there is an expectation that information will be promptly updated with every patient visit. Sanford’s system makes it easy to add information through typing or dictation – whether using a transcriptionist or electronic software that converts voice to text.

Privacy issues, which might have created some hesitation when electronic medical records were introduced, haven’t risen to any level of concern. Carlson said the systems contain various safeguards to ensure legitimate access and all mouse clicks and keystrokes are tracked.

Communication of records from one hospital system to another also can be seamless, and records from pharmacies or immunizations can be connected.

“It’s almost like 360 degrees in terms of health care,” Chhibber said of the connectivity. “Not only is it connecting one hospital system, but it’s connecting different big hospital systems and different EMRs together.”

Sanford uses a major software system called Epic, which is used by many other medical providers. Chhibber foresees improvements occurring that allow better communication between medical systems, even across different software platforms, because of the importance of EMRs in health care.

EMRs are just one way technology is improving health care. Another is the use of telemedicine. Sanford brings a number of its Bismarck specialists to Minot on a regular basis, but telemedicine has proved to be an efficient and effective way to augment those visits. Genetic counseling and psychiatry have been major users of telemedicine. Patients seeking follow-up care after surgery or procedures in Bismarck also can take advantage of telemedicine.

Sanford is working to increase medical access so people can receive care in their community, Carlson said. Whether through visiting specialists or telemedicine, Sanford’s goal is to provide care locally, she said.