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Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Practical Law Glossary Item 5-502-5347 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
An electronic version of an individual's health information that is created, managed, and consulted by authorized health care providers (42 U.S.C. § 17921(5)) (as added by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act). An individual's electronic health record (EHR) may consist of the following information:
- Medical history, including diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and lab and test results.
- Treatment plans.
- Progress notes.
- Administrative and billing data.
- Patient demographics.
- Vital signs.
EHRs are designed to work in real time. According to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, an entity established under the HITECH Act, EHRs:
- Reflect an individual's entire health profile, as opposed to the records and clinical data of a single provider.
- Are intended to move with an individual to various health care settings.
For example, EHRs can be shared with authorized health care providers across multiple health care organizations, such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics.