No one's illness ever occurs in a vacuum. However, most physicians only have access to a small amount of data on a patient. This prevents them from using the individual's medical history to make a more accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment recommendation.

This is why Carolyn Clancy, the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, recently said the country needs wider use of EHRs that can collect information on patients and make it available to physicians across the country, according to CMIO Magazine. Additionally, by disseminating new information on best practices, quality will improve through technology use.

Speaking at a conference of the American Health Information Management Association, Clancy said the fundamental flaw in the U.S. healthcare system is that the patient is not at the center of care. There are a number of processes in place to deliver care, but they rarely take into consideration the unique condition of individual patients.

However, EHRs can put the patient back at the center of care. A recent commentary published in the journal Family Medicine stated that EHRs have a tremendous potential to enable physicians to deliver more patient-centric care.