Features to include
Physical security
Electronic medical records should occupy limited physical space available. Computers should occupy limited space within health facilities where patients can interact with physicians nicely and update the status of their health profiles. Medical practitioners are the only qualified people to interpret or manipulate the medical data of their patients.
Confidentiality
Privacy of medical data is important for the integrity of the system. Clients should be able to register health profiles with the assistance of a qualified registered medical officer. During registration, clients should be assisted to enter medical information which does not conflict with previous information on paper files. The ease of retrieving information should be determined by the degree of medical complication one is suffering from.
System security
There is a need for water-tight software systems to be used to protect servers for electronic medical record systems.
Personalized health profiles
Patients should be assisted to create health profiles that reflect their actual health status. The fear of universal access to health profiles should be dealt with through the adoption of systems that can withstand the threat of malicious attacks.
Convenience
Medical personnel should be in a position to access medical information for a registered patient with ease. However, prior consent from the patient should be sought to be manipulation or interpretation by personalized medical data. Both users and health practitioners need to be trained on the features and applications of electronic medical records before they can use them.
Features to avoid
Linking
It is important that health profiles should be protected using passwords and servers for the electronic medical records should not be linked to other websites. Proxy servers should not be linked to electronic medical records systems at all. Websites and databases used to store medical records should be protected from unauthorized access through linkages from other websites and servers. Leakage should be dealt with within law.