EHRs have the potential to effectively and comprehensively manage the health of patients with chronic conditions by integrating well with other digital health tools.

While EHRs are finding more efficient ways to manage practice workflows, they are also playing a pivotal role in engaging patients with chronic disease management. The underlying premise remains to embrace a high-touch patient engagement strategy, which can prevent acute care episodes by maintaining regular check-ins and constant mentoring. The trend is picking more pace as we see a shift in the healthcare delivery model, away from the conventional in-office visits to virtual telehealth visits. Hence, as virtual engagement tools are expected to become more prevalent, EHRs are also expected to transform chronic disease management through a more remote strategy.

Medication Adherence

The most crucial component of a successful chronic disease management plan is perhaps a managed care plan that ensures medication adherence. Interestingly, EHRs are widely celebrated for their in-built capacity of ensuring medication adherence through several aspects. For instance, price transparency within the clinical EHR workflows allows the physicians to assess what amount their patients will easily be able to pay, which pharmacies will receive the medication from, and so forth. Similarly, reminder texts can be sent out to patients to ensure they take a proper dosage at the prescribed time, further improving medication compliance.

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Active Communication

EHR-integrated patient portals offer seamless real-time communication between the providers and the patients. With secure direct messaging features, EHRs allow the patients to interact with the providers for any health-related concerns such as upcoming visits, inquiries regarding medication dosage, or any other simple questions. Patients with chronic diseases can continuously communicate with their providers over these patient portals and seek advice promptly. The providers, on the other hand, can respond to these queries with much convenience and ease, even after office hours.

Telemedicine

EHR-integrated telemedicine systems have gained significant momentum in recent times. Telemedicine has made it easier for physicians to see and diagnose their patients across geographical barriers while also alleviating transportation challenges, medical disabilities, and several other debilitating issues. They can complete regular check-ups promptly through virtual tools, without putting the patients with chronic diseases at any additional risk. Moreover, a strong patient-provider relationship is established, which then enables the providers to coach and mentor the patients for engaging in self-care strategies.

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Chronic disease management is a growing burden on the U.S. healthcare system. EHRs can prove particularly beneficial in reducing the incidence of preventable hospitalizations and the chances of adverse events. They have the potential to effectively and comprehensively manage the health of patients with chronic conditions by integrating well with other digital health tools such as telehealth applications and patient portals. They are a great aid to the clinical decision support systems, which eventually leads to improved health outcomes.