Table 1: Description and Potential Applications for Various eTools.

eTool	Description	Application
Alerts and reminders	A system that uses patient-level data and clinical guidelines to prompt physicians with alerts and reminders for patient check-ups and treatments	Usually part of a CPOE or EMR system
CDSS	A system that uses patient-level data and clinical guidelines to prompt physicians with treatment and prevention opportunities for their patients	May be part of a comprehensive EMR system or implemented as a stand-alone system
CPOE	A system to share physician orders with multiple care providers, including nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health care professionals	May be part of a comprehensive EMR system or implemented as a stand-alone system
Disease registry	A system that maintains lists of patients with a particular diagnosis or who require routine health maintenance manoeuvres	Used to track patients who need regular follow-up and to conduct population health status and service utilization monitoring
EHR	Linked health records to identify a patient’s interaction with multiple points of contact in the health care system	Used to monitor and manage the population health to identify trends in prevalence rates and risk assessments
EMR	A comprehensive health record at the level of the patient within a single health care system	Typically applied at the level of a single institution or network; may or may not be accessible to health care professionals outside of that institution (e.g., PCPs sharing EMRs with hospital physicians)
e-Prescribing	A system to add, adjust, edit, monitor, and share prescribing orders	May be part of a comprehensive EMR system or implemented as a stand-alone system
Health information system or health information tool	Generic term to describe electronic systems that manage, store, and/or retrieve health data	May be used to describe any combination of eTools used in health information management
PACS	A system to manage, store, and retrieve results of certain health tests, such as an MRI or CT scan	May be part of a comprehensive EMR system or implemented as a stand-alone system
Patient portal	Extensions of existing EMR systems that allow patients to view and interact with at least part of the EMR under the responsibility of physicians and hospitals	Used to facilitate patient interactions with their physicians and other health care professionals; may be used to assist with self-management programs that are guided and monitored by health care providers
PHR	Patient-accessible health record; may or may not include a mechanism to facilitate monitoring by, and communication with, health care providers	May be used to assist with patient self-management, specifically with chronic disease (e.g., monitoring blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes). Usually used to give patients access to their own health records
Risk assessment tool	A system that uses patient-level data and validated risk assessment tools to identify patients at risk (e.g., for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or rehospitalization)	May be implemented at the level of the individual patient, physician practice, or population level

Abbreviations: CDSS, clinical decision support system; CPOE, computerized physician (or provider) order entry; CT, computed tomography; EHR, electronic health record; EMR, electronic medical record; eTool, electronic tool; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PACS, picture archiving communication system; PCP, primary care physician; PHR, personal (or patient) health record.