The computer-based patient record

Health providers have been slower than many other sectors to move patient files from paper into digital systems. This revised edition extends an earlier volume that set out a plan for adopting the computer-based patient record, or CPR.

The new material reports on recent progress, including the founding of an institute focused on the CPR. An international chapter surveys the latest changes in this technology, which is still developing. An expert committee examines how machine-readable records could sharpen diagnosis and treatment decisions and supply data for policy planning.

The discussion also takes up privacy and confidentiality, cost, the training staff will need, and the legal obstacles that stand in the way of electronic records.