Electronic Health Record (EHR)

Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a record of an individual's health information that is shareable, integrated, and maintained in digital form between institutions. It focuses not on a single institution but on the individual's entire health journey.

EHR aims to provide a holistic view of health to physicians and patients by integrating information such as diagnosis, treatment, laboratory results, imaging, prescriptions, and vaccinations.

Other names / abbreviations: Electronic Health Record, EHR.

What is it used for?

EHR strengthens continuity of care by ensuring that accurate and up-to-date health information is accessible at the right time, reduces unnecessary repeat tests, and supports clinical decisions.

Key features

• Inter-institutional sharing: The ability to transfer data between different healthcare organizations.
• Holistic health view: Collecting all of a person's past health data in one place.
• Interoperability: Standard data sharing with HL7/FHIR.
• Access and privacy control: Sharing of sensitive data based on authorization and consent.

Integration and standards

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) does not operate in isolation; it typically exchanges data with the following systems and processes:

• EMR and institutional systems
• National health platforms (e-Nabız)
• Laboratory and imaging systems

Frequently referenced standards and regulations:

• FHIR / HL7
• KVKK and privacy

Benefits provided

• Continuity of care
• Reduction of repeat tests
• More holistic clinical decisions

Selection and evaluation criteria

The main criteria considered when evaluating an electronic health record (EHR) include:

• Interoperability
• Privacy and access management
• Data quality

Points to consider

• EHR focuses on inter-institutional sharing; EMR focuses on the clinical record of a patient within a single institution.
• Privacy and consent management should be addressed from the design phase.