Harnessing knowledge AND clinical experience to improve patient care employing an electronic system analyzing non-structured medical records: The “SimRec” Software

The era of digitization reached the medical field. Technological advances and growing access to computer systems drive many health care innovations. In 2009, the United States authorized the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. It aims to create a 21st-century health care information system. One important step to achieve this goal is the expansion and adoption of electronic health records (Blumenthal 2010). These records consist of different patient characteristics, for example, diagnostic tests, like blood tests as well as social information. Computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSS) use this electronic information to evolve recommendations for the health care staff.