An electronic medical records system for clinical research and the EMR–EDC interface

This is a review for Elizabeth C. Murphy, Frederick L. Ferris, III, and William R. O’Donnell's An Electronic Medical Records System for Clinical Research and the EMR–EDC Interface

Background

As the use of medical records continues to expand among clinics and hospitals, there is growing research into the use of this collected data for clinical research. This article seeks to explore the practicality of implementing EMR systems for clinical research.

Methods

The authors worked in partnership with an ophthalmology clinic in order to develop a new system to work in conjunction with their current EMR.

Results

The resulting system functioned properly and in many instances improved on the current EMR of the clinic in correlation with EDC and used successfully in practice research protocols.

Conclusion

EMR usage in clinical setting is ever increasing and the demands for practical research along with it. This article has provided an example of a successful method of using such systems for research protocols as well as clinical trials.

Commentary

My only critique to this article is that is structured in a way that it is difficult to attain important concepts. However, the article is successful in its intentions of providing a detailed process of establishing an interface useful for both clinical and research purposes.

A similar article regarding the use of EMR in research aspects is Electronic medical records for clinical research: application to the identification of heart failure