Dedicated to preserving the history of medical records and the evolution of the health information profession in the United States
This digital archive covers a range of topics including stories of the first medical record librarians and degree programs in the United States, the progression of paper medical records to electronic health records (EHRs), early advocacy efforts concerning patient health information rights, and the role of health literacy in accessing, understanding, and using health information.
Health Information History By Year
Caswall, Muriel. Her Records Great Help to Physicians. Boston Post. June 26th, 1921.
Mrs. Grace W. Meyers. Bakersfield Morning Echo. July 6th, 1921.
Librarians Discuss Books for Hospitals. The Boston Globe. October 24th, 1922.
Humanitarian Use for Canceled Stamps. Alton Evening Telegraph. January 31st, 1922.
Three Thousand Surgeons Meet. Republican and Herald. October 13th, 1930.
Medical Librarian Group Will Meet. The Pasadena Post. September 19th, 1933.
Numbers For Diseases. The Cincinnati Post. April 9th, 1934.
Medical Record Librarians Hold Meet at Local Hospital. Times Tribune. July 12th, 1937.
WPA Teaches Women How to Aid Doctors. The Brooklyn Citizen. October 17th, 1938.
American Medical Librarians Open Sessions Today. The Boston Globe. November 4th, 1941.
Know Their Medical Nomenclature. The Durham Sun. July 20, 1942.
Women Create Growing Field. The Mobile Journal. June 8th, 1945.
25 Librarians Get Hospital Record Study. Democrat and Chronicle. September 10th, 1946.
Work of Medical Librarians Little Known but Important. Arizona Daily Star. November 12th, 1953.
Medical Record Librarians Tour New Hospital Here; Sessions to End Today. Albuquerque Journal. August 16th, 1954.
Medical Record Librarian Has Big Role In Service to Patient. The Daily Plainsman. June 1st, 1955.
New Career Program for Women. The Kansas City Times. April 27th, 1956.
Edgerton, A. H. Thousands of Nation’s Hospitals Need Medical Record Librarians. Wisconsin State Journal. April 30th, 1959.
Fatton, Wendy. Medical Record Librarian Finds Career Interesting. The Leader-Post. June 16th, 1959.
Weekley, Juanita. Librarians of Medical World Have Come a Long Way Since ‘28. Birmingham Post-Herald. January 22nd, 1960.
Medical Record Aid to Both Patient, Doctor. Chippewa Herald-Telegram. May 7th, 1962.
Williams, Annie Lee. Medical Records Offer Challenge if you Qualify. Times Record News. July 18th, 1962.
Ladies Work Behind Scenes at Hospital. The Morning Herald. May 16th, 1963.
Werne, Jo. She Backstops Busy Doctor. The Miami Herald. October 15th, 1964.
Medical Record Science is Offered at St. Mary. The Lincoln Star. July 9th, 1967.
Medical Record Librarian is a Skilled Professional. Manitowoc Herald-Times. May 14th, 1968.
Lain, F. J. Data Keepers on Medical Team Now in High Demand. El Paso Times. April 23, 1969.
So You Want to Be…A Medical Record Librarian. Oakland Tribune. September 25th, 1969.
Snider, Arthur J. How confidential are medical records? Press and Sun-Bulletin. September 18th, 1976.
Patient’s Right to View Own Records Fought For. News-Journal. August 22nd, 1978.
Miller, Jana. Group’s Concern: Medical Record Confidentiality. Lincoln Journal Star. November 6th, 1978.
Sweeney, Frank. Students in the Field of Medical Records: You’re in the Money. The Observer. April 20th, 1989.
Medicare Patients Need to Know Rights Before Hospitalization. Austin American-Statesman. July 5th, 1991.
Mosley, Barbara W. Sharper Focus on What Job Entails Can Be as Easy as a Name Change. Tallahasse Democrat. September 8th, 1993.
Kleinman, Carol. Medical Data Made Accessible. The Orlando Sentinel. July 3rd, 1994.
Donahue, Paul. Medical Records May Confuse. The Oshkosh Northwestern. April 6th 1995.
Congress to Tackle Lack of Privacy in Medical Records. South Florida Sun Sentinel. November 30th, 1997.
Freedman, Liz. New Brochure Helps Explain Medical Records. The Naples Daily News. April 30th, 1997.
Accessing Medical Records on the Web. Okmulgee Daily Times. October 18th, 1998.
Petrakos, Chris. Private Matters. Chicago Tribune. November 5th, 2000.
O’Harrow Jr., Robert. Medical Privacy: Exception to a Rule. The Boston Globe. January 21st, 2001.
The Computerized Patient Record: A Full Picture of Your Health Status. The Lexington Herald-Leader. August 9th, 2001.
Speir, Martha. Medical Privacy: Your Rights and Responsibilities. Daily Republican-Register. March 7th, 2003.
Neergaard, Lauren. Report Cites Americans’ Lack of ‘Health Literacy.’ The Boston Globe. April 9th, 2004.
MacDonald, John A. Gap in Medical Understanding Called Danger to Public Health. The Baltimore Sun. April 9th 2004.
Slogoff, Stephen. Computers in the Exam Room Will Improve Your Care. The Life. June 2nd, 2004.
Duncan, Marlin. Low Health Literacy Can Bring High Costs. Standard-Speaker. February 18th, 2004.
Holtz, Naiomi. Health Literacy is Important Health Issue that All People Need to Know More About. Sioux City. September 20th, 2007.
Holder, Diane. Lacking the Skills to Stay Healthy. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. October 17th, 2007.
Liedtky, Michael. Google to Store Medical Records. The Tampa Tribune. February 22nd, 2008.
McCormick, Don. Ask for Health Information You Can Understand. The Des Moines Register. May 14th, 2009.
Graham, Judith. Getting Medical Records Tedious but Worthwhile. The Baltimore Sun. September 28th, 2009.
Franklin, Cory. Blundering Past HIPAA. Chicago Tribune. January 24th, 2010.
How Low Health Literacy Affects Care. Daily Press. November 12th, 2012.
Schmidt, Christie. MyChart Puts Health Records at Fingertips. The Journal News. July 9th, 2013.
Cronan, Kate. Understand Medical Terminology. The News Journal. October 15th, 2013.
Slogoff, Stephen. Computers in the Exam Room Will Improve Your Care. The Life. June 2nd, 2004.
Vied, Steve. Electronic Record-Keeping Implemented in Medical Field But Still in Early Stages. Messenger-Inquirer. April 6th, 2014.
Vann, Korky. Working to Improve Health Literacy in the Elderly ‘Senior Moments’ May be ADD. The Marshall News Messenger. May 27th, 2015.
Zamosky, Lisa. Who Else has Accessed Your Medical Record? The Los Angeles Times. August 21st, 2015.
Shelton, Sara. See If You Pass a Health Literacy Test. Times Record News. October 14th, 2015.
Sapick, Barbara. Patients Taking Greater Role in Own Care. The Baltimore Sun. December 27th, 2015.
Korpe, Prerana. Health Literacy Key Factor for Better Health, Better Care. The Belleview News-Democrat. August 4th, 2016.
Boodman, Sandra G. Medical Posts a Mixed Bag. Chicago Tribune. April 11th, 2018.
Ford, George C. How to Get Errors in Your Medical Record Fixed. The Gazette. January 26th, 2020.