The New Frontier of Electronic, Personal, and Virtual Health Records

Thielst, Christina Beach, Journal of Healthcare Management

Information technology can dramatically transform the delivery of healthcare, making it safer, more effective, and more efficient. Almost everyone has heard of an electronic medical record or software that allows a physician or other clinicians to maintain and access patient care and treatment information in an electronic format, rather than on paper stored in folders. However, an electronic medical record is merely a start to the advances in healthcare information technology. In this column, we explore the possibilities related to several forms of electronic patient records.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD AND ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD

An electronic medical record (EMR) stores clinical data and is owned, accessed, and contributed to solely by the provider (e.g., physician, clinic, hospital). In some cases, laboratory, radiology, and consultation reports can be scanned and added or perhaps even downloaded into an EMR. An electronic health record (EHR), on the other hand, goes beyond the capability of an EMR. It points to where other health information on the patient can be found, allows the patient to contribute and interact with the clinician, and leverages clinical knowledge to make clinical data more actionable.

For example, with an EMR, a physician can look up the condition of a patient and the medical interventions the patient has been given. However, the EMR does not provide care …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: The New Frontier of Electronic, Personal, and Virtual Health Records. Contributors: Thielst, Christina Beach - Author. Journal title: Journal of Healthcare Management. Volume: 52. Issue: 2 Publication date: March-April 2007. Page number: 75+. © 1998 American College of Healthcare Executives. COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.