What If EMRs Worked Like Wikipedia?

I’ve been thinking about EMRs, electronic medical records, lately. It’s a subject, despite some professional experience, I don’t feel particularly close to. In fact, if anything, they are a source of consternation. As an industry insider, I see them as an expensive albatross around our collective neck. As a human centered design advisor, I see them as an encumbrance for both providers and patients.

And, as a patient I see them largely as an opaque blob of data about me with a placating window in the form of a portal. Which makes me wonder, am I obsessed with EMRs lately?

One of the reasons is certainly my personal interest in technology. And, while I don’t work in health IT, it’s natural to draw some connections. For instance,Wikipedia is consistently in among the top 10 most visited internet sites ( it is currently number 6 ). And, say what you will about citing Wikipedia, but a 2010 study found it as accurate as Britanica...