Codified Format can be used to prevent disease

Using a codified format prompts diagnosticians to be alerted to a multitude of possible illnesses and diseases after the entry of specific symptoms and triggers.  An example is when a patient arrives complaining of a persistent cough and chest pain; the doctor may be less inclined to look for diseases such as tuberculosis if the symptoms circulate around those of the common cold.  (EHR Discussions)  By using the codified format, the system can then alert the physician to check for other symptoms and possibly detect a more harmful disease than what is first suspected.

Universal (Standard) Precautions

In watching the movie “Remaking American Medicine”, I was startled to learn that 2 million people in America each year are infected by diseases caused by germs contracted from a medical professional and that of those, 100,000 have fatal results (Crosskeys Media LLC).  Further startling is that this happens with such frequency that there is a term for it, nosocomial infections.