When used properly, EHR systems can help keep patients safe by alerting clinicians to harmful drug interactions or allergic reactions to prescribed medicines and helping clinicians manage the health of patients with complex chronic conditions.
By now, you’ve probably heard that healthcare reform is part of the President’s stimulus package. The quote above was taken from a Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) article, Electronic Health Records: The Time is Now. This is one of the 3 reasons that were cited for support of the government’s investment in healthcare IT.
Part of the healthcare overhaul is to make it easy for patients, physicians, and hospitals to exchange data electronically. So instead of lugging around and maintaining the 3 ring notebook that I mentioned in a previous blog with your personal health information, theoretically you could give the doctor access to an electronic personal health record (ePHR) that you have been maintaining online. Better yet, the doctor could get your permission to access the official electronic health record (EHR), that all of your providers have maintained. The highlevel difference between, ePHRs & EHRs, is that ePHRs are established by you for you, EHRs are established by providers for their use.
Basically the theory behind electronic health records is that they would improve health care because your providers would have immediate access to all of the medications you are taking and/or have taken, in addition to all of your current and past diagnosis and lab results. With this timely information providers could develop a better, more efficient, treatment plan for your ailments. In addition since the data is digital a computer could quickly analyze potential harmful drug interactions before the prescription is issued.
In the meantime, while we wait for ALL of the reform measures to take hold, you can get on the leading edge of technology and usher in change by converting your 3 ring binder to an ePHR. An ePHR will be much easier to maintain, safer, and lighter on your back than carrying around a 3 ring notebook. I will continue to dive into ePHRs in the upcoming weeks. I know, I know, I know, ePHRs, EHR, and EMRs all these freaking acronyms. Well, what do expect when geek speak meets the government, the NIH, CMS, CDC, CIT, and FDA implementing HIPAA EDI X12 type transactions for IBM, HP, and EDS to develop solutions on UNIX and AIX OS using DB2, MS SQL Server, and MySQL databases running SAP instances to transmit EHRs will cause an uproar from AMA along with AARP, AFL-CIO, NAACP, ADA, NRA, and others necessitating horde’s of JD’s to untangle the M.E.S.S.!!!
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