President's column: the community imperative - Share to Care and Cure

The purpose of the Messages from AMIA section is to provide a forum for AMIA to inform and involve its current and potential members about the goals and the directions of the association. These messages, which reflect the directions and opinions of AMIA leaders only, are intended to inspire members and readers to connect with the association on strategic objectives and activities. See also http://www.amia.org/presidents-page. The magnitude of change in the innovation and use of electronic health records (EHRs) and personal health records (PHRs) has been dramatic in recent years. The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act stimulated the use of EHRs among providers and, coupled with the ubiquitous nature of the internet, created a comparable increase in the use of PHRs by consumers. As sophisticated, interoperable EHRs are used, individual patients are much more likely to receive the care ordered by their doctor, be monitored more carefully, and have their medical record available regardless of where they are seeking care. Those of us in the field of informatics know that these advances are slowly but surely moving us toward a learning health system . We also know that—as a result of digitizing healthcare information and analyzing the …