NIOSH’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Working Group seeks information from public health professionals, care providers, and care organizations related to how occupation and industry information may affect patients’ work or healthcare. The agency established the EHR Working Group to ensure that relevant work information is included in patients’ EHRs in a useful, retrievable way. According to a recent NIOSH , EHRs are replacing paper medical records in most healthcare environments, and occupation and industry are important elements to incorporate into EHR platforms. Specifically, the agency is requesting examples of how occupational information has been or would be used in EHRs to improve the health of patients or a population.

“At the patient level, healthcare providers can use information about their patients’ work to provide the most appropriate care,” NIOSH’s blog post reads. “At the population level, healthcare organizations can use work information to identify groups of patients who may be at risk for harmful exposures or health problems, or who may benefit from specific interventions.”

NIOSH encourages individuals to share examples about how work information might help accurately diagnose and treat a patient; improve the management of a chronic disease; or make connections between work and health at the population level. See the agency’s at for more information on submitting feedback on work information and EHRs.