The History of Electronic Health Records (EHRs): An electronic health record is defined by NEHTA Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary of Terms (p22, 2005) as “a longitudinal electronic collection of personal health information, usually based on the individual, entered or accepted by healthcare providers, which may be distributed across a number of sites or aggregated in a particular source. The information is organized primarily to support continuous, efficient and effective healthcare quality. The medical record is under the control of the consumer and is stored and transmitted securely.” The original way medical records were stored was in a paper-based record system , including past medical conditions, laboratory reports, surgery reports, and other patient information (Englebardt, Nelson, 2002). Paper medical records were difficult to maintain due to the large amount of information that could be stored. must be stored on a patient. If the patient needed to remove their medical records to take them to a therapy session, a diagnostic test or various other appointments, no other healthcare provider would have access to them. Furthermore, if a doctor needed to remove a certain part of a patient's medical record, no other doctor would have the opportunity to work on it. The first computerized systems were intended to replace the paper medical record and were designed to collect, store, organize, and retrieve data related to a patient's care. The goal set by these early systems was to provide better quality of patient care, which is the same goal as current electronic health records (Englebardt, Nelson, 2002). The Internet has helped electronic health records become a more sophisticated way of storing a patient's health. ...... half of the document ...... goals for e-Health, EHRs and PCEHRs. They offer different visions for the consumer, provider and health care managers. On the consumer side, they hope to give them the ability to better manage their health through trusted and accredited sources of health information, technology has enabled access to a wider range of health services from rural and remote communities and to be able rely on the healthcare system. effectively organize one's healthcare and therapeutic activities. The provider will have a complete view of the consumer's health information at the point of care, will be able to share the information electronically in a timely and secure manner, will be able to transfer the information to different locations, and will be able to effectively track the information. about patients and have the ease of interacting with patients and other professionals, regardless of where they are located.