title: Clinical governance and laboratory medicine: is the electronic medical record our best friend or sworn enemy?
abstract: This review attempts to address the question: is the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) our best friend or sworn enemy in the context of Clinical Governance and Laboratory Medicine? It provides a brief overview of the history and development of Clinical Governance before going on to define an EMR. It considers how EMRs could assist in delivering quality care in laboratory medicine. A number of outstanding issues regarding EMRs and electronic health records (EHRs) are identified and discussed briefly before the author provides a brief outlook on the future of clinical governance and EMRs in laboratory medicine.
authors.affiliation: iCARE, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. nicolashaw@cha.ab.ca
authors.forename: Nicola T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D002984:Clinical Laboratory Information Systems / Q000592:standards*; D005568:Forms and Records Control / Q000592:standards*; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care