Electronic medical records or computerized medical records system, what is it and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using this system? This is what we will discuss in this article. Electronic medical records (EMR) are a computerized database that stores all personal and medical information about the patient's care and billing information from health care providers. Today, only medical providers and practices can implement these systems. Furthermore, there are neither known national central storage systems nor regional sharing of information between networks at the regional or national level. This is something that needs to be changed because it is important to be able to see this information holistically. This will change in the near future as doctors and hospitals are incentivized to move from paper to electronic systems and, in the coming years, providers will be denied a certain percentage of collections if they do not change. There are some advantages. have an EMR system, whether in the hospital or in clinics. One of the advantages is that it reduces logistical problems. It simplifies payment collection because it now becomes centralized. Providers are able to coordinate patient care with other providers. The EMR system saves time and effort by allowing the doctor to fax and email to another doctor or laboratory, which can reduce the usual wait time. It is important that the doctor has access to fast and accurate information in a timely manner, so that he or she can give the patient his or her full attention and time to heal their illness or injury. The information he might need to move forward may... middle of paper ...... information rather than the old way of writing it down on paper and then later not being able to remember or read what we wrote. We are in a new era and the computer is here to stay using all of its gifts, including the gift of fire. So, keep watching, keep your head up and stay focused…. Works Cited http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are=the=disadvantages –of-electronic-medical-records.htmhttp://www.wisegeek.com/ what-are=the=advantages –of-electronic- medical-records.htmhttp://www.governing.com/templates/gov-print-article?id=133465253http://patients.about.com/od/electronicpatientrecords/a/EMRbenefits.htm?p=1http:// www.openclinical.org/emr.htmlhttp://www.stlr.org/2011/03/despite-risks-electronic-medical-records-will-likely-soon-rephttp://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/ 714812A_2A gift of fire 2nd edition. Sara Baase2003 Pearson Education, Inc.