Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are a collection of patient health data which is retained in a digitally shareable format with global accessibility. Correlations can be developed by studying the digital information in aggregate form, which allows for national and regional health trends to be better understood and projected. In addition, the universality of this data allows for seamless transfer of patient data between different health facilities. This only occurs with medical facilities that have EMR software operational. Because EMR failures that were identified nine years ago have still not been remediated, small medical practices still encounter tremendous failures implementing EMR. This prevents the completion of the larger patient data network, leaving the larger goals of EMR systems incomplete and diminishing their usability. A failed implementation of EMR software conducted this year yielded the same failures that prior research has identified; furthermore, smaller medical practices are particularly susceptible to these vulnerabilities.
['David J. Wallach']
Effects of the Implementation of Electronic Medical Records in Small Internal Medicine Practices on Healthcare Objectives in the United States