I. INTRODUCTION In the foreseeable future, it is likely that the familiar, paper-based patient medical files, contained in thick folders and stored on long shelves or in filing cabinets, will become a thing of the past. Both the federal government and health care advocates are enthusiastically promoting the adoption of health information technology ("HIT") and electronic health record ("EHR") systems (1) as means to transform and improve health care in the U.S. (2)
