An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital collection of a patient's health information that contains their medical history, diagnoses, medications, allergies, test results, and other information. EHRs provide benefits to both patients and staff. For patients, EHRs improve access to health information and care while strengthening the patient-physician relationship. For staff, EHRs allow for faster, more efficient care and secure storage of patient data. The overall goal of EHRs is to enhance quality of care and efficiency across healthcare systems through accessible and secure health information.

1. Brief Introduction to What an EHR Is and
Benefits of Use
By: Christina Doughty

2. What Is An EHR?
An Electronic Health Record (EHR) also known as an
Electronic Medical record (EMR) is a digital collection of
health information about a patient.

3. What Information Does an EHR
Contain?
 Patient's medical history
 Diagnoses
 Medications
 Immunizations
 Allergies
 Radiology images and
reports
 H&P
 Lab results
 Test results
 Demographics
 Progress notes
 Contraindications / drug
interactions
 Vital signs

4. Patient Benefits:
 Greater availability of health information
 Reduction of duplicate tests or potentially risky tests
 Decreased delays in treatment
 Access to patient portals: patients have access to their
basic health information online
 This helps to keep patients well informed
 Better decision making for patients
 Strengthening relationships with physicians

5. Benefits Of EHRs
For Staff
 Store and capture data securely, quickly,
and more intuitively.
 Multiple ways of data entry such as voice
recognition, handwriting recognition, as
well as point and click.
 Multi-facility communication
 Allows for faster more effective patient
care
 Increased billing efficiency
 Reduce medical error as a result of more
accurate and clear record keeping
 This will decrease coding errors and
sequentially increase reimbursement
 Alerts for allergies and dangerous drug
interactions- this helps to lower liability
issues
 Meets meaningful use requirements (paper
does not)
 EHRs make the clinician's duties more
efficient all around
Benefits of EMR

6. Benefits Continued…
An EHR is comprised of many
mechanisms that work together to
capture, construct, share, maintain
and store a patient’s complete
health record accurately and more
effectively than paper records
EHRs will make your life much
easier with access at the click of a
button; instead of rummaging
though file after file just to find out
that Jane in transcription had that
file all along 
EMR/EHRs Comic

7. Goal
The goal of implementing an EHR is to improve
quality of care and efficiency by ensure that the
processes, systems and technologies are available to
you and your patients where and when they are
needed; while maintaining the integrity of PHI with
secure safeguards

8. EHRs Offers
Quality
Efficiency
Security

9. The End
Thank you 
For more information
HHS Privacy, Security, and EHRs
Healthit.gov - Key Steps to Implementation