Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

A special issue of Future Internet (ISSN 1999-5903). This special issue belongs to the section "Big Data and Augmented Intelligence".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 9808

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 4025000, Israel
Interests: sociology of technology; Internet use; digital divide

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Business Administration, Ono Academic College, 104 Zahal St., Kiryat Ono 5545001, Israel
Interests: bio-informatics; data mining in the medical arena; econometrics; health analytics; economics of health; medical decision-making; information systems policy and value of information in the decision-making process

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Guest Editor
School of Computing and Information Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3052, Australia
Interests: information systems; health information systems; mental health apps; affordances; manual systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The electronic health record (EHR) or electronic medical record (EMR) was introduced almost 50 years ago. In 1973, it was described as a computer-based medical record system for ambulatory care named the Regentrify Medical Record (RMR) system. Since then, the EMR has constantly evolved to include health and lifestyle information beyond just episodic medical encounters. It became easier to read and made it possible to access information from almost any location, changing the format of health records and, thus, improving health care. Despite high costs, data entry errors, poor initial physicians’ acceptance, and lack of real incentive to use it, physician compliance with preventive care protocols improved, and a new domain of medical informatics was generated. However, data ownership, data liability, informed consent to use and retrieve private data are just some of the examples of significant ethical problems raised by EHR which are still relevant.

This Special Issue aims to examine the following and other possible questions: if and how the current personalized healthcare monitoring devices integrated with EMR (e.g., IoT, health apps, biomedical devices) can contribute to preventive care rather than remedial care; how user embeddedness in the continuous design of EMR result in user-specific affordances; what are the challenges related to privacy-preservation when a high-volume of patients accumulated EMR data become medical big-data; would EMR data analytics transform the EMR use to forecast diseases by creating predictive models and optimizing decisions; would econometrics models based on EMR data facilitate better medical outcomes; how does the use of integrative EMR affect health teams-work; and how is integrative EMR represented in team-work within organizational processes.

This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of the latest developments about the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and its related technologies and applications in next-generation networking. Both theoretical and technical aspects are of interest. Interdisciplinary approaches are also highly welcome.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

  • Data Mining on Electronic Health Record;
  • Econometrical and statistical models on EMR Data;
  • Health information technology;
  • The socio-material account of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) practices;
  • Medical privacy;
  • Personal health record;
  • Health information management;
  • Privacy Issues in Electronic Medical Records;
  • The connection between Telehealth and EMR Data;
  • Cost-effectiveness assessments of EMRs and health information technologies.

Dr. Esther Brainin
Prof. Dr. Ofir Ben-Assuli
Prof. Dr. Reeva Lederman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • electronic medical records
  • privacy
  • biomedical research
  • biomedical data
  • ehealth
  • sociomateriality
  • electronic health records
  • IoT
  • health app
  • AI

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 172 KiB  
Editorial
The Electronic Medical Record—A New Look at the Challenges and Opportunities
by Reeva Lederman, Esther Brainin and Ofir Ben-Assuli
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030074 - 26 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1032
Abstract
Electronic medical record (EMR) systems possess the potential to enable smart healthcare by serving as a hub for the transformation of medical data into meaningful information, knowledge, and wisdom in the health care sector [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR))

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 306 KiB  
Article
In-Depth Co-Design of Mental Health Monitoring Technologies by People with Lived Experience
by Bronwin Patrickson, Mike Musker, Dan Thorpe, Yasmin van Kasteren, Niranjan Bidargaddi and The Consumer and Carer Advisory Group (CCAG)
Future Internet 2023, 15(6), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15060191 - 25 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2016
Abstract
Advancements in digital monitoring solutions collaborate closely with electronic medical records. These fine-grained monitoring capacities can generate and process extensive electronic record data. Such capacities promise to enhance mental health care but also risk contributing to further stigmatization, prejudicial decision-making, and fears of [...] Read more.
Advancements in digital monitoring solutions collaborate closely with electronic medical records. These fine-grained monitoring capacities can generate and process extensive electronic record data. Such capacities promise to enhance mental health care but also risk contributing to further stigmatization, prejudicial decision-making, and fears of disempowerment. This article discusses the problems and solutions identified by nine people with lived experience of being mental health care consumers or informal carers. Over the course of ten facilitated focus group format sessions (two hours) between October 2019 and April 2021, the participants shared their lived experience of mental health challenges, care, and recovery within the Australian context. To support the development, design, and implementation of monitoring technologies, problems, and solutions were outlined in the following areas—access, agency, interactions with medical practitioners, medication management, and self-monitoring. Emergent design insights include recommendations for strengthened consent procedures, flexible service access options, and humanized consumer interactions. While consumers and carers saw value in digital monitoring technologies that could enable them to take on a more proactive involvement in their personal wellness, they had questions about their level of access to such services and expressed concerns about the changes to interactions with health professionals that might emerge from these digitally enabled processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR))
13 pages, 442 KiB  
Article
Applying Patient Segmentation Using Primary Care Electronic Medical Records to Develop a Virtual Peer-to-Peer Intervention for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
by Alessia Paglialonga, Rebecca Theal, Bruce Knox, Robert Kyba, David Barber, Aziz Guergachi and Karim Keshavjee
Future Internet 2023, 15(4), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15040149 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1469
Abstract
The aim of this study was to design a virtual peer-to-peer intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) by grouping patients from specific segments using data from primary care electronic medical records (EMRs). Two opposing segments were identified: patients living with diabetes [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to design a virtual peer-to-peer intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) by grouping patients from specific segments using data from primary care electronic medical records (EMRs). Two opposing segments were identified: patients living with diabetes who tend to take several medications (“medication” segment: ~32%) and patients who do not take any diabetes-specific medications (“lifestyle” segment: ~15%). The remaining patients were from two intermediate segments and exhibited medication-taking behavior that placed them midway between the medication and lifestyle segments. Patients were grouped into six workshops (two workshops in each group: medication, lifestyle, and mixed group), including individuals with good and bad control of their disease. Measures of attitudes, learning, and motivation were addressed during and after the workshops. Results showed that patients in the lifestyle segment were more interested in T2D lifestyle control strategies, more satisfied with their in-workshop learning experience, and more motivated to set a goal than those in the medication segment. These results suggest that the proposed intervention may be more viable for patients in the lifestyle segment and that EMR data may be used to tailor behavioral interventions to specific patient groups. Future research is needed to investigate different segmentation approaches (e.g., using data related to smoking, drinking, diet, and physical activity) that could help tailor the intervention more effectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR))
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15 pages, 1621 KiB  
Article
Co-Design, Development, and Evaluation of a Health Monitoring Tool Using Smartwatch Data: A Proof-of-Concept Study
by Ruhi Kiran Bajaj, Rebecca Mary Meiring and Fernando Beltran
Future Internet 2023, 15(3), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15030111 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2787
Abstract
Computational analysis and integration of smartwatch data with Electronic Medical Records (EMR) present potential uses in preventing, diagnosing, and managing chronic diseases. One of the key requirements for the successful clinical application of smartwatch data is understanding healthcare professional (HCP) perspectives on whether [...] Read more.
Computational analysis and integration of smartwatch data with Electronic Medical Records (EMR) present potential uses in preventing, diagnosing, and managing chronic diseases. One of the key requirements for the successful clinical application of smartwatch data is understanding healthcare professional (HCP) perspectives on whether these devices can play a role in preventive care. Gaining insights from the vast amount of smartwatch data is a challenge for HCPs, thus tools are needed to support HCPs when integrating personalized health monitoring devices with EMR. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an application prototype, co-designed with HCPs and employing design science research methodology and diffusion of innovation frameworks to identify the potential for clinical integration. A machine learning algorithm was developed to detect possible health anomalies in smartwatch data, and these were presented visually to HCPs in a web-based platform. HCPs completed a usability questionnaire to evaluate the prototype, and over 60% of HCPs scored positively on usability. This preliminary study tested the proposed research to solve the practical challenges of HCP in interpreting smartwatch data before fully integrating smartwatches into the EMR. The findings provide design directions for future applications that use smartwatch data to improve clinical decision-making and reduce HCP workloads. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR))
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14 pages, 297 KiB  
Article
Professionals as Change Agents or Instruments of Reproduction? Medical Residents’ Reasoning for Not Sharing the Electronic Health Record Screen with Patients
by Celeste Campos-Castillo, Noelle Chesley and Onur Asan
Future Internet 2022, 14(12), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14120367 - 07 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1361
Abstract
The stability of physicians’ authority over patients despite decades of changes in medicine conflicts with newer institutionalist accounts of professionals as change agents rather than instruments of reproduction. We analyzed whether the cultural scripts that twenty-one residents used to justify their approach to [...] Read more.
The stability of physicians’ authority over patients despite decades of changes in medicine conflicts with newer institutionalist accounts of professionals as change agents rather than instruments of reproduction. We analyzed whether the cultural scripts that twenty-one residents used to justify their approach to a new change, the electronic health record (EHR), signaled a leveling of the patient-physician hierarchy. Residents are intriguing because their position makes them open to change. Indeed, residents justified using the EHR in ways that level the patient-physician hierarchy, but also offered rationales that sustain it. For the latter, residents described using the EHR to substantiate their expertise, situate themselves as brokers between patients and the technology, and preserve the autonomy of clinicians. Our findings highlight how professionals with little direct experience before a change can selectively apply incumbent scripts to sustain extant structures, while informing newer institutionalist accounts of professionals and the design of EHR systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Electronic Medical Record (EMR))
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