12. A method for managing form-generated data related to a patient encounter, the method comprising: receiving location information related to a form that has designated information fields in different locations on the form, wherein the location information is generated in response to a user writing on the form in one of the designated information fields; translating the location information to a contextualized data element, wherein the contextualized data element comprises contextual information that is associated with the user writing, wherein translating the location information to a contextualized data element comprises using the location information to identify a label by comparing the location information to a mapping data set that maps user areas on the form to labels that are associated with the designated information fields, and wherein the contextualized data element comprises the label; and wherein the label in the contextualized data element is utilized by an EMR/EHR application to perform a function related to the user writing on the form, wherein the contextualized data element is distributed to the EMR/EHR application via a publish/subscribe protocol in which the EMR/EHR application subscribes to a specific contextualized data element by identifying the label associated with the contextualized data element.
19. The method of claim 12 wherein utilizing the contextual information in the contextualized data element to perform a function comprises performing a function related to patient/insurance billing for services rendered related to the patient encounter, case management related to the patient encounter, and order fulfillment related to the patient encounter.