ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHRs) AND PATIENT WORK INFORMATION

Electronic health records (EHRs) are replacing paper medical records in most medical environments, but EHRs typically do not contain information about patient work.

When it is available, healthcare providers can use information about their patients’ work to provide the most appropriate care. In addition, healthcare organizations can use work information to identify groups of patients who may be at risk for harmful exposures or health problems, or who may benefit from specific interventions.

Patient work information in EHRs and other health information systems also can be used to support public health activities, such as case reporting and disease registries. NIOSH develops tools and investigates best practices that support the inclusion of work information in EHRs and collaborates with federal, state and other partners to ensure that EHRs can be used to improve and track the health of workers.