mandated all health systems to be on Electronic Health Records by 2015.
The theory is this information sharing will make it easier for medical practitioners to provide accurate treatment based on a more thorough understanding of a patient’s history.
Here’s the nuts and bolts of what this looks like:
Information Sharing: The idea is to share entire medical records between physicians and healthcare facilities. This allows practitioners to view vital information that can help make more accurate diagnoses and prevent potentially fatal treatment due to interactions or allergies.
Security: The progression is slow at the moment for moving over to electronic records, partly because of the concern for keeping patient’s information secure. Remember, paper records were not really any more secure than electronic records (as long as security protocols are followed). The perception of security with paper records is simply a stigma of the uninformed regarding current technology.
Learning Curve: Moving to electronic charting and health records will bring with it a learning curve for all medical practitioners. I have a friend who has had several trips recently to a hospital with internal electronic records already in place, and while it is a little odd at first to have your nurse or doctor staring at a computer screen instead of a clipboard or folder, the treatment has been great. Electronic time stamps of when medication was administered helps ease some of the error records.
Personal Records already available: There are several services already available to help you keep your personal health record and share it with others who may need it. Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault, WebMD PHR, and 911 Medical ID are several examples of some of the options available (most are free). If you’d like to explore other options, check out PHR Reviews.
The best way to be ready for your physician’s office to convert to electronic health records is to educate yourself. Be sure to talk with your physician, find out their plan if you don’t already know. Also, check out the information at the following sites:
US Health and Human Services
Health Information and Management Systems Society
Melissa Truax
