Electronic health records could play an important role in improving outpatient care, but more research is needed to understand their full impact, according to a new report from the American Medical Association.

The research examined trends in ambulatory care safety that took place over the course of the past 10 years. The team pointed to errors such as prescribing the wrong medications, inaccurate diagnoses, laboratory mistakes, lack of clinical knowledge, communication breakdowns and clerical mistakes as being the most costly to patient safety.

However, EHRs may be able to address many of these problems by connecting physicians through a seamless network. This can give physicians access to the latest clinical knowledge and give them a complete view of patients' histories, which may lead to more accurate diagnoses.

"The use of electronic health records has the potential to improve patient safety and early research shows some promise," the report stated.

Still, the authors said that more research should be done before the association can recommend EHRs specifically for the purposes of improving patient safety. Most importantly, determining the number of physicians willing to implement such systems could play an important role in assessing the possible impact of EHRs on patient safety.