AMIA Issues Report on Electronic Health Records
BETHESDA, Md. — The American Medical Informatics Assoc. (AMIA) recently released the results of a task-force report on electronic health records (EHRs), which allow healthcare providers and clinicians to record patient information electronically instead of using paper records.
The EHR-2020 Task Force is comprised of a group of 15 experts. The findings were presented at the AMIA iHealth 2015 Clinical Informatics Conference in Boston. The report recommends changes that will support patient engagement, improve provider workflow, support innovation, and set the stage for future improvements that will improve patient health and healthcare.
AMIA is at the forefront of using EHRs and information technology to enhance medical care and advance the functionality of EHRs. The EHR-2020 Task Force report represents practical solutions to the concerns members have about the challenges of EHR adoption. AMIA worked with many groups, government agencies, and professional organizations to determine methods to solve EHR challenges that providers encounter, and to further create a sustainable framework for innovation in EHRs.
“Health-information technology is a key part of enhancing health and healthcare, and empowering patients to be first-order participants in their care,” said Dr. Douglas Fridsma, president and CEO of AMIA. “As part of this report, we listened to our members who work closely with EHRs to understand the current challenges. We think these recommendations will improve the value that EHRs will provide to patients and set the stage for more significant benefit in the future.
“Security and confidentiality are at the heart of EHR planning since its inception,” he continued, “and AMIA is acutely aware of the concerns of the general public as well as the medical community. As the professional home of health-informatics professionals, AMIA’s members — multi-disciplinary and interprofessional — address many of the EHR problems from a wide range of perspectives: as informaticians, clinicians, scientists, vendors, innovation and implementation scientists, change agents, and people who cross all these boundaries.”
Dr. Thomas Payne, chair of the AMIA EHR 2020 Task Force, noted that, “while we recognize that there are challenges with implementing and using EHR technology, this report is aimed at practical solutions that we believe will improve health and healthcare for patients and their caregivers. We are hopeful that it will generate the thoughtful conversations and innovations that will make what is possible real for all patients.”