How electronic health records preserve patients' legacies in the words of oncologists

The EHR offers many tools designed in theory to make note writing more efficient, consolidate test results, communicate electronically, and ultimately assure billing charges are entered. It is well known that EHRs are a common source of disrepute among clinicians, contributing to burnout. Putting these criticisms aside, from another perspective, the EHR also represents an anthropological vault of stories of patients since the past that may never be known outside of the memories of loved ones and the clinicians who cared for them. These stories echo in silence beneath our fingers, telling some of the most intimate parts of individuals’ histories through our notes as we care for new patients.