Electronic health record
Sample patient record view from an image-
based electronic health record (VistA)
An electronic health record (EHR)
refers to an individual patient’s medical re-
cord in digital format. Electronic health re-
cord systems co-ordinate the storage and re-
trieval of individual records with the aid of
computers. EHRs are usually accessed on a
computer, often over a network. It may be
made up of electronic medical
records
(EMRs) from many locations and/or sources.
Among the many forms of data often included
in EMRs are patient demographics, medical
history, medicine and allergy lists (including
immunization status), laboratory test results,
radiology images, billing records and ad-
vanced directives.
EHR systems can reduce medical er-
rors.[1] In one ambulatory healthcare study,
however, there was no difference in 14 meas-
ures, improvement in 2 outcome measures,
and worse outcome on 1 measure.[2]
EHR systems are believed to increase
physician efficiency and reduce costs, as well
as promote standardization of care. Even
though EMR systems with computerized pro-
vider order entry (CPOE) have existed for
more than 30 years, less than 10 percent of
hospitals as of 2006 have a fully integrated
system.[3]
Overlap in Terminology
Multiple terms have been used to define elec-
tronic patient care records, with overlapping
definitions.[4] Both electronic health record
(EHR) and electronic medical record (EMR)
have gained widespread use, with some
health informatics users assigning the term
EHR to a global concept and EMR to a dis-
crete
localised record. For most users,
however, the terms EHR and EMR are used
interchangeably. An EHR system is also often
abbreviated as EHR or EMR. Information in
the section on EMRs electronic medical re-
cord may be more relevant to physician of-
fices seeking a less expensive or compre-
hensive solution.
Health Information Technology is an even
broader term that describes any computer-
based electronic aid to healthcare delivery.
An electronic health record is a patient’