The electronic medical record: perspective from Mayo Clinic.

On 1 January 1993, the Electronic Medical Record Task Force at Mayo Clinic published its report. Charged by the Mayo Foundation to define the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for Mayo, the task force mapped the goals, strategies and time-lines for implementation of the EMR in that institution. The task force was composed predominantly of caregivers (physicians and nurses) with assistance from members of Mayo's information systems and administrative departments. The focus of the effort was care of the patient with the consensus belief that the EMR will improve that process and, if designed robustly, will serve the other information needs of claims, research, education and practice management. The recommendations of this report have been accepted by the Mayo Foundation leadership resulting in the generation of a master plan and the creation of the governance structure for implementation at Mayo. This paper abstracts key portions of the report.