Electronic Health Records

Since the introduction of electronic health records, the U.S. government, information systems developers and associations of healthcare providers have worked toward establishing a uniform, integrated system of electronic health records. This collaboration is designed to significantly enhance patient safety and treatment, as well as effectively assist in the management of public health issues such as disease. While some health practitioners report difficulties in dealing with electronic health records, it appears that continued efforts and refinements are gradually solving problems of computerization and are improving healthcare.

Characteristics and Components of Efficient EHR

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine released a report called Key capabilities of an electronic health record system. In this consensus report, the Institute stated that an electronic health records system should consist of:

"a longitudinal collection of electronic health information for and about persons;

2. [immediate] electronic access to person- and population-level information by authorized...
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