Twenty-Five Years of Evolution and Hurdles in Electronic Health Records and Interoperability in Medical Research: Comprehensive Review.

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) facilitate the accessibility and sharing of patient data among various health care providers, contributing to more coordinated and efficient care.

Objective: This study aimed to summarize the evolution of secondary use of EHRs and their interoperability in medical research over the past 25 years.

Methods: We conducted an extensive literature search in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the keywords Electronic health record and Electronic medical record in the title or abstract and Medical research in all fields from 2000 to 2024. Specific terms were applied to different time periods.

Results: The review yielded 2212 studies, all of which were then screened and processed in a structured manner. Of these 2212 studies, 2102 (93.03%) were included in the review analysis, of which 1079 (51.33%) studies were from 2000 to 2009, 582 (27.69%) were from 2010 to 2019, 251 (11.94%) were from 2020 to 2023, and 190 (9.04%) were from 2024.

Conclusions: The evolution of EHRs marks an important milestone in health care's journey toward integrating technology and medicine. From early documentation practices to the sophisticated use of artificial intelligence and big data analytics today, EHRs have become central to improving patient care, enhancing public health surveillance, and advancing medical research.