“This is great news.”
I agree with this. I am so tired of filling out reams of forms every time I visit a doctor, On lots of questions with doctors I’ve seen for years, I just put “I don’t know, don’t you keep records?” I believe every doctor’s office could save at least $30,000 a year by dismissing one transcriptionist. Bush proposed electronic records to reduce health care costs. However, I want my health insurance company to do it, not Google.
Anyone thinking their records are safe now is delusional. Each day I get errant faxes containing social security numbers, names and the results of tests to determine whether they can keep taking medication for schizophrenia. It is absolutely ridiculous that the medical industry has not moved to electronic records. Faxing private medical information carries far greater risks than password protected computer records.
Thanks for your comments.
“However, I want my health insurance company to do it, not Google.”
Yep...that’s happening. It is slightly more challenging than the usual provider-centric EMR systems because the source for data is claims forms as opposed to the facility or practice. Then, there’s the question of dealing with medical records belonging to the uninsured and other challenges.
However, none of these are unsurmountable and we’ll see payor-based EHR/PHR systems in the market in the not-too-distant future (I know this for a fact).