Along with the development of the first civilizations, writing became a tool of communication, enabling the recording of a person’s knowledge.

It is arguably a pictogram of the first available medical record illustrating a probable multi-organ injury. One of the paintings shows an injury of a man attacked by an animal.

Human history shows that a prominent feature of Homo sapiens is intentionally leaving behind traces of one’s actions, shown by cave paintings created 17,000–15,000 years ago in the early Magdalenian period, unearthed in the Lascaux cave complex in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. These advantages have become pointedly apparent during the recent COVID-19 scourge. AI benefits both patients and providers as it improves patient management and communication among medical centers, spares resources, identifies contamination or infections, and limits health costs. The migration process to eHealth records involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that streamline medical services by using faster and simpler working methods. The general conclusion is that medical records undergo a revolutionary change from paper-based to electronic format, which reflects the development of eHealth systems. Overall, 600 articles were identified, 158 of which were judged thematically relevant. References were also picked out from the identified articles.

The search terms included “Medical Records,” “Health Records,” “History of Medicine,” and “eHealth” and covered the last hundred years. English articles or those having English abstracts were considered. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar databases to collect pertinent articles. This article comprehensively describes and reviews the development of medical records from ancient to modern times in Europe and North America, reflecting alterations and adaptations compliant with the mental and technological capabilities of a given period. Until the 19th century, medical records mainly served educational purposes, later assuming other roles such as in insurance or legal procedures. The history of medical records is thousand-year-long, with earlier roots in ancient civilizations.

What is the purposes of medical records