Thanks to David Deverauf for this announcement: August 1, 2003 An Institute of Medicine [IOM http://www.iom.edu] panel yesterday issued a group of eight key functions for safety, quality and care efficiency that electronic medical records should contain, AHA News reports. HHS had requested the IOM�s guidance so that the IOM could assist standards organization Health Level 7 in developing a national electronic health record model, AHA News reports (AHA News, 7/31).

According to the IOM, electronic records should support:

� Physician access to patient information, such as diagnoses, allergies, lab results and medications;
� Access to new and past test results among providers in multiple care settings;
� Computer order entry;
� Computerized decision-support systems to prevent drug interactions and improve compliance with best practices;
� Secure electronic communication among providers and patients;
� Patient access to health records, disease management tools and health information resources;
� Computerized administration processes, such as scheduling systems; and
� Standards-based electronic data storage and reporting for patient safety and disease surveillance efforts (National Academies of Science press release, 7/31).

The EHR Collaborative, a consortium of health care groups, will hold public meetings in six U.S. cities next month to collect feedback on the standards (AHA News, 7/31). HHS expects to have a final EMR model ready in 2004 (iHealthBeat, 7/1).