TABLE 1.

Potential benefits of electronic health records and standardized data elements

Improved quality of care

Adherence with best practice ○ Prompts and alerts ○ Inclusion of key recommended parameters to assess Interpretation of diagnostic and test results Patient safety ○ Diminished prescription errors, adverse drug events

Improved access and productivity

Access to integrated patient information Easy retrieval of information (patient data, test results) Possible comparisons of various parameters over time Reduced time loss to reproduce data on each visit Reduced wait times (automated referrals)

Outcomes monitoring

Patient/program evaluation or practice audit Performance measurement Benchmarking Surveillance and registries