Politicians and policymakers have long dreamed of creating a national system of electronic health records (“EHRs”) that would radically transform the delivery of health care. The theoretical advantages of EHRs are tantalizing: among other things, they could reduce medical errors, improve care coordination, limit duplicative testing, and help uncover new public health strategies. Over the past decade, the United States health care system has made progress toward realizing this vision. Until relatively recently, patients’ medical histories were typically transcribed on physical notepads and stored in filing cabinets, which were often difficult for providers and patients to access or understand. Today, by contrast, the vast majority of health care providers utilize EHRs, a sea change that is largely attributable to federal policy.

中文翻译：

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电子病历可以保存吗？

政客和政策制定者长期以来梦想建立一个全国性的电子健康记录系统，以从根本上改变医疗服务的提供方式。电子病历的理论优势令人着迷：除其他外，它们可以减少医疗错误，改善护理协调，限制重复检测并帮助发现新的公共卫生策略。在过去的十年中，美国卫生保健系统在实现这一愿景方面取得了进展。直到最近，患者的病史通常都记录在物理记事本上，并存储在文件柜中，这通常使提供者和患者难以访问或理解。相比之下，今天，绝大多数医疗保健提供者都使用EHR，这是联邦政策导致的巨变。