Pushing Boundaries in EHR Implementation and Innovation through Advanced Digital Health Technologies

The integration of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) into healthcare has marked a significant shift in managing patient data, enhancing the accessibility and continuity of care, thereby improving patient outcomes. Despite the promise, the adoption and implementation of EHR systems have encountered persistent issues that limit their full effectiveness within varied healthcare environments. These primary issues include complex data management and custody, varying legislation, the intricacies of cross-border exchanges, and achieving true interoperability among systems. Moreover, advancing technologies like wearables, telehealth, and AI-driven tools underscore the continuous evolution in the field, challenging existing EHR frameworks to adapt and integrate.

This Research Topic aims to address and consolidate solutions to the substantial barriers EHRs face, spotlighting emerging advancements and fostering a deeper understanding of ongoing and future needs in EHR technologies. It seeks to bridge the gap between current limitations and the envisioned potential of fully integrated, seamless EHR systems that enhance clinical workflows, ensure privacy and data protection, and respond flexibly to patient and provider requirements.

With a focus on delivering more personalized, patient-centered, and data-driven healthcare, our scope encompasses a broad spectrum of critical areas requiring dedicated research and dialogue. To gather further insights, we welcome all article types are accepted, including reviews, addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Strategies for effective EHR implementation and challenges faced
• The integration of EHR systems with other digital health technologies
• Legal, ethical, and social impacts of EHR usage
• Patient interactions with EHRs, including data access and contributions
• Technical and standardization issues relating to interoperability and data exchange
• Use of AI, including generative models, in enhancing EHR functionality
• Frameworks and theories to analyse, evaluate, and enhance EHR technology and its implementation

These topics aim to cultivate a comprehensive discourse on refining EHR systems to not only overcome current drawbacks but also to leverage emerging opportunities to transform future healthcare landscapes.

Topic Editor Gunnar Piho is a member of the supervisory board at Medisoft AS, a company that develops software for general practitioners. He is also a co-founder of SmartEhr Technologies OÜ, a university spin-off focusing on privately owned EHR records, and he owns Software, Cider and Sun OÜ, a private consulting company. Topic Editor Peeter Ross is a co-founder of SmartEhr Technologies OÜ. All other Research Topic Editors declare no conflicts of interest.

Keywords: Digital Health, Electronic Health Records (EHR), Digital Health Technologies, Interoperability, Data Privacy, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.