Electronic patient records and innovation in health care services.

The approach of today's EPR seems so narrowly focused on automation of the existing paper-based records by means of information technology that it becomes obvious to raise the question: 'Will these automation efforts become an impediment to innovation in products and services in health care?'. This paper discusses how objectives like improvements and innovations in products and services in health care are met by means of information technology (IT), and it argues that a shift of focus from technological innovation to innovation in products and services is necessary in order to obtain maximum benefit from IT.