Nurses’ Perceptions, Attitudes, and Preferences

It is estimated that by the year 2005, the majority of healthcare facilities will have implemented some type of electronic health records (EHR) and electronic documentation systems. In 2003, Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), asked two prestigious organizations, the Institute of Medicine and Health Level 7 (HL7), to form a national task force to design a standard for EHRs. The task force has proposed a model with standards to be used in several EHR demonstration projects. To date, the EHR model has had far-reaching impact on the entire healthcare community, ranging from large enterprises to individual practices, with many states forming advisory boards to strategize how EHRs can be implemented statewide. The Health Information and Management Systems Society has developed a definitional model that details eight attributes and essential requirements for an EHR, from the need for secure records that can be accessed in real time to records that can help support clinical trials. All healthcare agencies are expected to have EHRs in place in the near future to F E A T U R E