Trust me, I'm a patient! The effect of an EHR on my consultation.

A general assumption has been made within the health care community that the introduction of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) is beneficial and improves clinical care. However, it is my contention as both a Health Informatician, and more importantly a patient, that this assumption is not supported by evidence, either scientific or anecdotal. However, to my mind of more importance than this is the complete lack of understanding about how using an EHR effects my consultation. This paper discusses this issue and identifies four lessons to be learned by the EHR community.