This thesis investigates face-to-face interaction between health care providers and patients in an American Community Free Clinic. The interactions are facilitated by what is called an Electronic Health Record—a technological innovation that assists in the efficient collection of patient history, and other relevant data, and provides health care providers with a resource to assist in diagnosis and treatment. While EHRs have been a part of the American biomedical scene since the 1990’s little is known about their effect on patient’s participation and interpersonal relations in medical encounters (Ventres and Frankel 2010). As such, this research is primarily exploring the ways in which to analyze provider-patient interactions with an Electronic Health Record as the interface. I will consider many modalities of communication, and use various theoretical frameworks to get at the question of: What effect does an electronic health record (EHR) have on communication between providers and patients in medical consultations?