Topic > Using the Electronic Health Record (EHR)

Starting from scientists' imagination of a "living machine", artificial intelligence (AI) has now become part of our daily lives and has had a major influence on changes in all fields. Referring to data presented by the International Data Corporation (IDC), artificial intelligence systems and cognitive computing are estimated to earn up to $12.5 billion in 2017, and are expected to continue along with the increase in use massif of artificial intelligence (Galanos, 2018). The electronic health record (EHR), a longitudinal electronic record containing information on the patient's health, is one of the examples of application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector. EHR was developed by American Healthcare System to help them manage all clinical data including; demographics, medication history, vaccinations, down to lab data from every hospital in the United States. It was designed to replace the old electronic medical record (EMR) system into a data sharing system, in both cloud-based and location-based formats. The EHR is considered to be an effective tool for sharing data beyond all healthcare providers due to its ability to collect all data in real-time data processing. The history of the health record system began between 1,600 and 3,000 BC, when ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions were translated into the use of medical records. The growing awareness about documenting patient's medical history has pushed healthcare providers to invent a paper-based system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Later, the development of computer technology and scientific research on algorithms influenced the change of medical record systems into a computerized system. Using a special algorithm, EHR provides us with high-precision information that is extremely important not only for healthcare providers but also for health insurers. Additionally, the EHR is used by the government as a tool to predict future healthcare spending (Evans, 2016). As the new form of technoscience, the EHR shows us that science and technology are interconnected. Although the EHR is the result of the desire for social control by different actors, both science and technology interact to achieve a single goal, to provide a comprehensive healthcare service. As stated by Sismondo (2010) “.. a successful piece of technoscience is the result of managing all the actors and their associations so that they can contribute to the achievement of an objective”. EHR brings a new era of human works. It introduces new types of work that have not yet been explored or even did not yet exist. One of the examples is the EHR which stimulates the growth of new technologies called electronic health applications (e-health). E-health includes mobile applications that allow patients to collect and use data to monitor their health conditions. They use it as a mutual relationship between patient and healthcare provider. The EHR changes behavioral health screening. They are the examples of social interaction between human and non-human actors (knowledge discoveries and techno-social evolution) to achieve the desired goal. The EHR involved the application of actor-network theory, which states that everything existing in worlds is the result of constantly changing networks of both human and non-human interaction (Sismondo, 2010).