Computer-based safety surveillance and patient-centered health records

There is much debate on which types of computer-based systems have the most impact in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Safety surveillance systems, which have been around for several years, are probably at the top of the list. These provider-oriented clinical decision support systems allow healthcare providers to monitor the safety of medications and other interventions that are critical to prevent poor outcomes. However, another rapidly growing type of system related to personal health records (PHR) is likely to be a contender for the top position within the next few years. These ‘consumer ’oriented systems currently have a primary focus on providing information to patients, but soon will follow the evolution of provider-oriented systems to expand into consumer-oriented decision support systems. In this issue of JAMIA, we cover safety surveillance systems and patient-centric systems, which nicely complement articles covering the same topics that were published in our extraordinary online issue last December.