Open AccessCommunity Health Records: Establishing a Systematic Approach to Improving Social and Physical Determinants of Health
Author(s) -
Deryk Van Brunt
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2016.303602
Subject(s) - health records , community health , population health , psychological intervention , population , social determinants of health , medicine , medical record , public health , environmental health , gerontology , public relations , family medicine , health care , nursing , political science , law , radiology
To systematically improve population health in the United States, community health records (CHRs) must be defined, developed, and implemented. Like electronic and personal health records, CHRs have both unique and overlapping information. CHRs contain data about communities, including the social, physical, and lifestyle determinants of health. These records will serve to complement electronic and personal health records to provide a more complete view of population health, allowing stakeholders to target community health and quality-of-life interventions in a data-driven and evidence-based manner, establishing the basis from which organizations can develop a systematic approach to improving community health. This commentary calls on the United States to conduct a set of consensus activities to define and implement CHRs.