Taking the (Sinus) Pressure Off with Allergy EMR

Unfortunately, for many people, allergies aren’t just a springtime occurrence and pollen and mold continue to bother them throughout the year.  Most folks know the feeling of a fall sinus infection brought on by allergies all too well.  The good thing is that allergies are treatable, especially when assessed by an ENT specialist.  Allergy EMRs help otolaryngologists properly diagnose allergies and sensitivities as well treat the common conditions and complaints that accompany them.

Besides the most commonly known irritants, many people have allergies and intolerances to more unassuming things like pet dander, food, latex and medication.  To find out exactly what bothers the patient, the physician will perform sensitivity tests on either the skin, with a blood test or by changing the patient’s diet.  By using an allergy EMR, the ENT specialist can follow the testing procedure templates for scratch, patch and intradermal skin testing and enter the data and outcomes requested in each step of the procedure.  Most EMRs also interface with major labs, making it easy to request blood tests and receive results in a short period of time.  If food intolerance is in question, the doctor may ask the patient to keep a food diary, eliminate the foods in question (such as wheat, dairy, eggs or soy), log their results over a period of time and submit to them via patient portal.

Allergies also come with many other uncomfortable symptoms, so allergy EMRs come with exam templates to diagnose and manage them.  With a document management feature, image, video and audio files can be uploaded into the patient’s chart, enabling the physician to describe rashes, hives and eczema in full detail.  Chronic sinus infections commonly plague allergy sufferers, so EMRs come equipped with a customizable template to document which sinuses are being affected (frontal, ethmoidal, sphenoidal or maxillary) and allow the doctor to view X-Rays and previous surgeries and procedures to treat the condition.  Allergens also trigger asthma; the clinical decision support feature assists with the assessment of the severity of the asthma and come up with a management plan that works best for each specific patient.