title: Electronic medical record: a balancing act of patient safety, privacy and health care delivery.
abstract: With almost $35 billion appropriated in government incentives and additional funds spent in development by institutions, the concept of an electronic patient record (EPR) within integrated health information technology (HIT) systems has taken the United States by storm. However, the United Kingdom's expensive struggle to implement a seamless EPR highlights the variety of pitfalls and unforeseen complications ranging from recognizing the importance of accurately assessing EPR-related patient risks to understanding the difficulties in the exchange of information across a gradient of distinct interfaces. Furthermore, the tenuous relationship between HIT implementation and patient outcomes in the short-term draws into question the value of EPR construction costs along with the ethical and privacy issues they create. Nonetheless, experts agree that with future software advances and physician familiarization, a robust HIT will be an important asset to patient autonomy, epidemiologic and clinical research, evidence-based error reduction and the potential for cost reduction. This article seeks to review the current status of this initiative and potential pitfalls that remain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery (SG), Thomas Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Department of Radiation Oncology (NH), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Department of Surgery (TAZ, LGK), University of Indiana School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: Sriharsha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gummadi
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Housri
authors.forename: Teresa A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Zimmers
authors.forename: Leonidas G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Koniaris
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology