MemorandumHealth informatics

EHR Proposal Summary

A memo to a named reader who asked a practical question. Audience and register are part of the grade here, and an essay on EHR benefits answers a different brief.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 22, 2026

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

On this page

Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

A memo to a named reader with a practical problem

The framing is the assignment. Someone with a specific job has asked a specific question, and what she needs is a decision she can act on rather than an overview of health informatics. That sets the register: address her directly, lead with the recommendation, keep the paragraphs short, and stay inside 700 words. It also sets the scope, because a small doctor's office is not a hospital system and advantages that only appear at scale will not persuade her. Practically that means leading with the problems she already has: charts that go missing, handwriting that has to be checked by telephone, refill requests that need someone to walk to a filing cabinet, and insurance claims returned for missing documentation. A memo that begins with her Tuesday morning and works outward will be read to the end; one that begins with the national picture will not, and the word limit gives you no room to recover from a slow start.

Separate functions from advantages, since the brief names both and they are not the same. Functions are what the system does: structured storage of demographics, problems, medications and allergies; order entry and results review; e-prescribing; scheduling and billing integration; reporting; and a patient portal. Advantages are what follows for this office: legibility eliminating transcription error, one record accessible to several staff at once instead of a chart that can only be in one place, automated interaction and allergy checking at the moment of prescribing, recall lists for overdue screening, faster claims with fewer rejections, and less physical storage. Use one concrete example, as the brief asks, and make it a scene from her office rather than an abstraction. Being honest about cost, training time and the productivity dip during transition will make the memo more persuasive, not less, because a manager who discovers those afterwards discounts everything else you told her.

Likely learning objectives

Write to a named non-technical reader with a decision to make.
Separate system functions from the advantages they produce.
Scale the argument to a small practice rather than a hospital.
Include costs honestly to preserve the memo's credibility.

Assignment instructions

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Imagine you are working at a doctor’s office. You are approached by the office manager, who asks you to develop an effective way of storing patient information. Write a 350- to 700-word summary to your office manager informing her of the advantages of using electronic health records (EHRs) to store patient information. Be clear and concise, use complete sentences, and use examples to support your responses. Include the following in your response: Discuss the functions and advantages of using EHRs. Discuss three to four forms used to keep patient information in EHRs. What is the purpose of each form? EHR Proposal Summary The Research paper -Students are required to submit 2 research papers in the semester, the first due in week eight, the second in week15. Late papers will lose a grade for each day it is late. Each paper will be a minimum of 15 pages in length. Note that this is to be a critical analysis with research, and not a diary, personal opinions are elicited, but confessional meanderings are not. The degree to which a student may become extremely personal is the degree to which the ideas of the class can be brought to bear upon the utterances in a critical manner. All Research papers are to be typed, in manuscript format. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the source, in the Graduate Communication Arts Department for format and citation techniques. Note that this technique is somewhat different from the MLA style usually taught in most English classes. Each journal will outline the major ideas of the textbook assigned for that period and will relate those ideas to the needs of contemporary communication within the scope and techniques of the course. You should use outside research (a minimum of 10 sources) to examine and analyze the relevant points of the text. Using the lecture notes to aid you, please expand on the ideas of the text by looking into the future of our industry and predicting its impact on our society. No less than 15% and no more than 25% of your paper should be quoted material Grading Rubric – Tips on writing your Research paper The assignment for each paper will be graded on the following: Five or so topics discussed in the text (each from a different chapter) applied to today’s world and the Mass Media – Lecture notes and discussions should be included –10 points Your 10 resources and quotes from other experts’ -5 points Update of the texts ideas- 5 points New / original ideas/ Incite into impact on our society -5points Points will be taken off for the following: All papers are to be typed, in manuscript format. APA–minus 2 points if not done Late- minus 1 point per day 15 pages-minus 1 point for each page under 15 pages Approximately 20% of your paper should be quotations. Penalty for having more than 25% quotations or less than 15% could result in failure

Turn the brief into deliverables

01A memo addressed to the office manager, in memo register.
02A clear recommendation stated early.
03The functions of an EHR, listed as capabilities.
04Advantages specific to a small doctor's office.
05At least one concrete example from her setting.
06An honest note on cost, training and transition.
07350 to 700 words.