Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are digital versions of patients’ charts that are available to health care providers wherever and whenever they are needed. A single EHR can bring together information from current and past doctors, emergency facilities, school and workplace clinics, pharmacies, laboratories, and medical imaging facilities.
Adopting EHRs requires time and money, but the benefits outweigh the costs.
Better Information Means Better Health Care
The goal of Health IT is to improve the quality of patient care. The promise of fully realized EHRs is having a single record that includes all of a patient's health information - a record that is up to date, complete, accurate and accessible.
Adopting EHRs can give health care providers:
- Accurate and complete information about a patient's health.
- The ability to better coordinate the care they give.
- A way to share information with patients and their family caregivers.
