Electronic medical records: what are they?

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are computerized health records in the form of electronic documents and images. EMRs enable community-based physicians and other primary health care (PHC) providers to store, retrieve and manipulate patient-encounter information electronically. Adopting EMRs with pan-Canadian standards allows PHC professionals to

• Exchange information with other points of care across the country
• Achieve the health-care benefits of e-health investments