Electronic health record

Electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient's paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.

Overview

An EHR contains the medical and treatment histories of patients. EHRs are built to go beyond standard clinical data collected in a provider’s office and are inclusive of a broader view of a patient’s care. EHRs can:

• Contain a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory and test results
• Allow access to evidence-based tools that providers can use to make decisions about a patient’s care
• Automate and streamline provider workflow

One of the key features of an EHR is that health information can be created and managed by authorized providers in a digital format capable of being shared with other providers across more than one health care organization. EHRs are built to share information with other health care providers and organizations – such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics – so they contain information from all clinicians involved in a patient’s care.

Benefits

The EHR has the ability to transform the health care system from a mostly paper-based industry to one that utilizes clinical and other pieces of information to assist providers in delivering higher quality of care to their patients. Some of the major benefits of EHRs include:

• Improved patient care: Enhanced decision support, clinical alerts, reminders, and medical information performance-improving tools can aid in the provision of timely, current medical care to patients.
• Improved care coordination: Health information is readily available to all providers participating in a patient’s care.
• Practice efficiencies and cost savings: Certain providers have achieved a positive return on investment as a result of implementing and adopting an EHR.
• Increased patient participation: Patients can receive electronic copies of their medical records and reminders about important health screenings.

Challenges

While EHRs have many benefits, they also come with some challenges, including:

• Initial cost: The initial cost of implementing an EHR can be high for some health care providers.
• Training: Health care providers may need to undergo training to effectively use an EHR system.
• Interoperability: EHR systems need to be able to communicate and share information with other health care providers and organizations.

See also

• Health informatics
• Medical record
• Health information exchange
• Personal health record

References

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