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WGU C811 Data Analytics and Information Governance
Task 3 | Passed on First Attempt |Latest Update with
Complete Solution
HEALTH RECORDS
Brittannie Flint
College of Health Professions, Western Governors University
Name of Instructor: Bridgette Stasher-Booker
Date: January 21st, 2025
HEALTH RECORDS
CHARACTERISTICS
There are many different forms of legal health records. A legal health record is anything
disclosed under a legal request. The health record is one form of legal health record. Health
records can be paper, hybrid (half paper/half electronic), or fully electronic. Paper health records
are just as you would think. A medical professional documents the patients' health on a piece of
paper. They oftentimes are templated. Paper health records are physically stored in filling
cabinets or in storage rooms. Paper health records can be physically accessed, and records that
require amendment would need to be written in. Paper health records are easy to access and do
not require anyone to be technology-trained to review or access the information. Some issues
with paper health records would be that the paper could be easily lost and hard to replace, the
, 2
handwritten amendment may cause confusion or misinterpretation, and the medical staff's
handwriting can be hard to read. Tracking previous information or who/where the data originated
from will be hard when performing an audit. Paper health records take up much storage and
must be kept extensively. Paper health records can also be easily amended by adding another
sheet or having the provider cross out or erase previous information.
In today’s world, many healthcare organizations use fully electronic health records (EHR).
Unlike paper health records, every medical professional or staff must be trained to utilize the
electronic health record platform. Once the staff has been trained, access to the health record is
easy and can be accessed among multiple facilities. Fully electronic health records have the
highest level of accessibility among all three types. The storage of fully electronic health records
is done digitally on servers or in a cloud. Amending electronic health records is quick and
efficient. There is also a digital trail for all amendments which is beneficial when performing an
audit. Like paper health records, fully electronic records have some disadvantages. Electronic
medical records are kept and shared online, which takes up less physical space but is easily a
security concern as it could create unauthorized access and careless handling of patient
information (Oachs, P., & Watters, A., 2020).
The combination of paper and electronic health records is known as a hybrid record. In this case,
the paper health record is typically scanned into the patient's electronic health record. In hybrid
records, after scanning the physical paper record, it is stored physically in a filing cabinet or
storage room. Then, what was scanned in is stored digitally, just like the fully electronic health
records. Hybrid health records have more accessibility than paper records as some information
is scanned, making it closer to fully electronic health records accessibility. However, the data not
scanned in will need to be physically accessed. Amending hybrid health records is more
straightforward than paper health records but still not as easy as fully electronic ones.
Information stored digitally is easy to update, but physical paper portions can be challenging.
WGU C811 Data Analytics and Information Governance
Task 3 | Passed on First Attempt |Latest Update with
Complete Solution
HEALTH RECORDS
Brittannie Flint
College of Health Professions, Western Governors University
Name of Instructor: Bridgette Stasher-Booker
Date: January 21st, 2025
HEALTH RECORDS
CHARACTERISTICS
There are many different forms of legal health records. A legal health record is anything
disclosed under a legal request. The health record is one form of legal health record. Health
records can be paper, hybrid (half paper/half electronic), or fully electronic. Paper health records
are just as you would think. A medical professional documents the patients' health on a piece of
paper. They oftentimes are templated. Paper health records are physically stored in filling
cabinets or in storage rooms. Paper health records can be physically accessed, and records that
require amendment would need to be written in. Paper health records are easy to access and do
not require anyone to be technology-trained to review or access the information. Some issues
with paper health records would be that the paper could be easily lost and hard to replace, the
, 2
handwritten amendment may cause confusion or misinterpretation, and the medical staff's
handwriting can be hard to read. Tracking previous information or who/where the data originated
from will be hard when performing an audit. Paper health records take up much storage and
must be kept extensively. Paper health records can also be easily amended by adding another
sheet or having the provider cross out or erase previous information.
In today’s world, many healthcare organizations use fully electronic health records (EHR).
Unlike paper health records, every medical professional or staff must be trained to utilize the
electronic health record platform. Once the staff has been trained, access to the health record is
easy and can be accessed among multiple facilities. Fully electronic health records have the
highest level of accessibility among all three types. The storage of fully electronic health records
is done digitally on servers or in a cloud. Amending electronic health records is quick and
efficient. There is also a digital trail for all amendments which is beneficial when performing an
audit. Like paper health records, fully electronic records have some disadvantages. Electronic
medical records are kept and shared online, which takes up less physical space but is easily a
security concern as it could create unauthorized access and careless handling of patient
information (Oachs, P., & Watters, A., 2020).
The combination of paper and electronic health records is known as a hybrid record. In this case,
the paper health record is typically scanned into the patient's electronic health record. In hybrid
records, after scanning the physical paper record, it is stored physically in a filing cabinet or
storage room. Then, what was scanned in is stored digitally, just like the fully electronic health
records. Hybrid health records have more accessibility than paper records as some information
is scanned, making it closer to fully electronic health records accessibility. However, the data not
scanned in will need to be physically accessed. Amending hybrid health records is more
straightforward than paper health records but still not as easy as fully electronic ones.
Information stored digitally is easy to update, but physical paper portions can be challenging.
