Electronic health records: beyond the digitization of medical files

the art and science of healing was the digitization of medical files, now known as electronic health records (EHRs). The data contained in EHRs in combination with other sources have the potential to transform medical practice by leveraging data, technologies, and healthcare delivery to improve the overall efficiency and quality of care at a reasonable cost (1). The widespread adoption of EHRs has generated large sets of data. The creative merging of datasets collected from patients and physicians could be a viable avenue to strengthen healthcare delivery. These massive datasets are currently understood as a byproduct of medical practice instead of utilizable assets that could play pivotal roles in patient care. Currently, for instance, most EHRs collect quantitative, qualitative, and transactional data, all of whic