Articles on Interoperability

Why an electronic record alone is not enough: structured data instead of a collection of PDFs

ELGA in Austria and the ePA in Germany solve an important problem: findings, medication plans and physicians' letters are available to patients and treating providers in one place instead of disappearing on paper or in separate practice systems. However, this only solves the question of access – not the question of data quality, i.e. whether ELGA or the ePA contain structured data. If an electronic record essentially remains a collection of scanned or exported PDF documents, the actual work also remains unchanged: every physician has to search the document for the relevant information again. This is exactly where a structured digital medical history comes in.