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The key element in any electronic medical system is what bioinformaticians call interoperability. This refers to the capability of repositories of EMRs (e.g. hospitals, doctors offices, nursing homes) to access and exchange data through the same system.
Currently, the largest such system in the United States is administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. A patient can walk into any VA facility with confidence that his doctors will be able to examine the medical records from his past visits to other VA sites. Such a system affords our retired servicemen a degree of medical mobility not yet available to the vast majority of health-care consumers.
Unfortunately, a system that grants easy access to large numbers of legitimate users is also an invitation to abuse.
Read more in the Orlando Sentinel.