Health Data Standards and Terminologies A Tutorial

1: Functions and Types of Health Information Standards


The Electronic Health Record (EHR)


Electronic Health Record icon

The electronic health record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patient’s medical history that helps make health information available in digital environments. For example, an EHR can make it possible for a physician to send a prescription directly to a pharmacist.

The electronic record and the systems that enable record sharing allow healthcare providers and patients to connect health information from a variety of sources. This can provide a more complete view of a person’s health and can lead to better decision-making by both healthcare providers and patients.

An EHR can be shared so that other systems can reliably use the content of the record and perform the tasks that they were built to perform. In addition to communicating patient health data for clinicians and patients, as the patient permits it, other organizations are also able to make use of the data that is present in this record.


ASTP/ONC

To learn more about the EHR and its potential benefits, explore the website of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC).

ASTP/ONC is the “principal federal entity charged with coordination of nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information” (from About ASTP/ONC | HealthIT.gov).

Activity

Explore the full extent of the ASTP/ONC website on your own, but to give you a sense of the information they provide, visit the "What Are Electronic Health Records (EHRs)?" page and read about the benefits of the EHR.

While the EHR has the potential to break down previously siloed information and facilitate better and more rigorous care, simply having a digital record does not mean that all the potential benefits of the EHR is immediately unlocked.