Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Health Care Settings The Places Where Care is Delivered
Lecture:Departments and services
Interrelationships between health care organizations
Medical data use and impact
Slide content:Communication Verbal Paper Film/analog 18
Slide notes:Data can be transmitted verbally either in person or by phone. This has the advantage of direct communication but usually has no permanent record. Even audio recordings may be less than satisfactory, because they require the user to listen to the entire recording. Paper medical records have been the mainstay of communication, but they present challenges such as with legibility, access, and consistency. With paper, patient information can be accessed by only one person who physically has the paper. Also, multiple versions of the patient record may exist across various departments. Test results and images that are recorded on film or in an analog format (electrocardiograms, laboratory results, x-rays, for example) can be stored in patient charts or in a central location . these mediums present the same availability problems as paper records. 18