Article from InformationWeek Healthcare:

If you're a patient in search of the best medical care possible, it makes sense to understand some of the electronic tools doctors now use to manage your care. The fact is, health IT changes how physicians and other healthcare providers document and view healthcare information and exchange data with each other.

This slideshow offers an overview of not only the electronic tools that clinicians manage, but also some of the tools they are starting to use to communicate with patients. We'll cover electronic medical records (EMRs), personal health records (PHRs), patient web portals, electronic prescribing, electronic lab result reporting, health information exchanges (HIEs), and telemedicine (also known as telemonitoring)...

http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/healthcare/patient/232901341?pgno=1

9 Health IT Tools Patients Should Understand
Ken Terry - May 3, 2012