An electronic health record is a collection of patient health information generated by one or more meetings in any care delivery setting. An EHR typically includes patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. It’s said to streamline clinicians’ workflow, and it has the ability to generate a complete record of a clinical patient encounter.

EHRs focus on the total health of the patient. They go beyond standard clinical data collected in the provider’s office and include a broader view of the patient’s care. EHRs are designed to reach beyond the health organization that originally collected the data and are built to share information with other providers. EHRs’ most notable benefit include a secure sharing of data, which, in turn, results in more open communication and more involvement on the patient’s part.