There has been much discussion about the impact that electronic medical records (EMRs) will have on the ability of healthcare facilities to share electronic health information. Many experts, physicians and healthcare facilities already recognize that the universal use of EMR software could revolutionize modern medicine, and there is little doubt that the quality of care patients receive would greatly improve with a national health information system.

In fact, perhaps one of the most important functions of EMRs is that they allow doctors, specialists and hospitals to easily and accurately share important patient information. Data regarding blood glucose levels, medical history, blood type and current medications – to name only a few – would be instantly available to any medical professional a patient chooses to see. Not only would this allow for his/her care to be increasingly comprehensive, but it would also provide easy access to vital information in the event of an emergency.

In addition to the benefits that EMRs provide for individual patients, the ability for healthcare professionals to exchange and view aggregated data is another huge advantage of using digital recordkeeping systems. In fact, a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, titled, “Transforming Healthcare through Secondary Use of Health Data,” shows that hospitals and physician’s practices have already begun to use this data to reduce errors, improve outcomes and increase the opportunities for revenue.

Although data sharing still has a way to go before reaching its full potential, organizations like The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are working on ways to begin accepting and utilizing clinical quality data directly from the electronic medical records of hospitals. This could prove to be a real boon for medical care in the U.S., since it would allow doctors to view verifiable, comprehensive data about chronic diseases and other health issues, and would also provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of various treatments. In the years ahead, EMR software solutions will continue to become an integral part of how healthcare facilities operate, and the easy exchange of electronic health information will be a vital part of this endeavor.