[ska]

> The idea is a good EHR should allow you to copy/paste your entire medical history into an email in a non-fragile way.

On the surface, this seems to be a poor test. Are you using it as a proxy for a patient to be able to get their EHR records out or something else?

[breck]

> Are you using it as a proxy for a patient to be able to get their EHR records out or something else?

It's a proxy to test a lot of dimensions at once: not only how accessible the records are to the patient (facilitating care, particularly in acute settings), but also how well designed the grammar and schemas are. Well designed grammars and schemas should survive copy/pasting easily. Any errors should be quickly and readily identified with the potential for autocorrections.

VA created a very cool thing called Blue Button (https://www.va.gov/bluebutton/). It is a step toward passing the copy/paste test. Any veteran can download their complete medical history in a single file. The schema isn't there yet and parsing these things is a pain, but a step in the right direction.

[ska]

Ok, that makes more sense.

I guess initially I would think of this as a round-trip requirement. In theory at least I should be able to download the entirety of my history (in an appropriate format); delete the record on the EHR; re-upload my history and end up with the identical EHR record mutatis mutandis.

Sticking "email" in there had me thinking your were focused on transmission.

[breck]

> I guess initially I would think of this as a round-trip requirement. In theory at least I should be able to download the entirety of my history (in an appropriate format); delete the record on the EHR; re-upload my history and end up with the identical EHR record mutatis mutandis.

I like this test! Yes, passing the copy/paste test should pass this test as well.