From subconscious to conscious to artificial intelligence: A focus on electronic health records

A paradigm shift in human evolution, from our predecessors, the 'hunter-gatherers' to the 'era of digital revolution', has made certain human skills more and more machine driven. This digital revolution has made possible a constant connectivity, wearable technologies, customized platforms, enormous data storage and cloud computing at high speeds, smart phones and apps, internet of things, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, etc. These have made real-time monitoring and interventions possible in healthcare. Most advanced countries have made electronic health records (EHR) mandatory. The Government of India has an agenda of Digital India and digital healthcare and might insist on EHRs. EHR is a real-time, patient-centered digital version of a patient's paper record/chart, available instantly and securely to authorized users. EHR contains a patient's medical history, diagnosis, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiological images, and laboratory results. It can access evidence-based tools that help to make safer decisions about a patient's care with enhanced decision support, clinical alerts, reminders and medical information. The procedure is also more reliable for dispensing medications and introduces the convenience of e-prescriptions. While the advanced technology and digital devices are well received by the healthcare providers, universal acceptance of the EHRs is far from achieving its full potential. The author, in this paper, discusses the current scenario and issues concerned with EHRs in the digital healthcare.