The use of existing low-cost technologies to enhance the medical record documentation using a summary patient record [SPR]

The Institute of Medicine has described the Electronic Medical Record [EMR] as an essential technology for health care that improves patient safety and the quality of care when compared to traditional paper-based records. [1,2,3] Despite major financial expenditures on health information technology related to EMRs in developed countries such as North America, Britain and Australia, success rates for successful implementations have been low. One specific domain of information management relates to the communication of health care between those involved in the care process. Summarization of patient histories is a core component of EMR systems and assists in the communication of health care. This paper demonstrates how the utilization of simple technologies, can lead to the successful implementation of the Summary Patient Record [SPR] component of an EMR system.