Ronni Bennett of Time Goes By (one of my favorite blogs, read it here ) wrote the other day about electronic medical records (EMR). Her focus was on should they be online? Personally I don’t want to go there with the online issue and it was covered by Ronni. That said, our medical director presented to some people on the hill regarding EMRs and he believes that seniors should have EMRs.
Here is what Dr. Narrett, Chief Medical Officer for Erickson had to say about why people 65+ need to have electronic medical records:
No patient who is at least 65 years old should ever go to a hospital emergency room without his or her electronic medical record being present. This is the opinion of Dr. Matthew Narrett, chief medical officer for Erickson Health, the nation’s largest integrated wellness and health system for people in this age group.
Few hospitals in the United States have the technology that is required to receive and process electronic medical records. As a result, emergency room doctors lack patient information related to immunizations, advance directives, medications, X-rays, Cat-scans, MRIs, family histories, and recent medical visits.
This information is crucial, according to Dr. Narrett, who said that 80 percent of a successful diagnosis by a doctor comes from knowing the patient’s history. “Timely and comprehensive information about a patient - particularly in an emergency room — can mean the difference between an appropriate therapeutic intervention and an ineffective, potentially risky situation.”
Erickson Health has invested nearly $2 million to bring its medical records for the more than 21,000 people who live at Erickson campuses nationwide online. The health system has already seen improved efficiencies, better outcomes and cost savings as a result of its move to cyberspace medical histories.
“Without having access to electronic medical records, doctors in hospital emergency rooms must often make educated guesses about a diagnosis, based on lab work for a patient that is compiled in a compressed timeframe,” Dr. Narrett said. “There is no reason for this to have to be the case.
“A doctor is only as good as the information that he or she is given,” said Dr. Narrett. “Electronic medical records are the future, and the future is now.”
March 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
How about all people should have electronic medical records?! This technology is amazing, and the more I learn about it, the more I wish it were available to me.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Given that most hospitals and physicians’ offices have not yet invested in electronic records technology and most of us don’t live in an Erickson community, I’m not sure what Dr. Narrett means about not going to an emergency room without an electronic record.
I suppose I could keep a typed-out list in my handbag (hardly electronic) or keep a flash drive with all the information in my wallet, but would the hospital even know what to do with the flash drive.
In the interim (probably years if not decades) until electronic records are universal, what can be done?
March 19th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Ronni, you make a good point about the “accessibility” of an EMR. One of the most important things that an older adult (and the rest of us-aging or not) should always have on hand is a complete listing of their medications and the prescribed dosage. This includes any OTC drugs. My grandmother takes about 10 pills a day. She has no idea what they are for and she remembers them by their size and color. Try going to an ER and telling the staff that you take “one red, a little yellow, and a big blue pill.” God only knows how many ways your situation can go down hill from there…the thought of that situation scares me!
It would be great, however, if a system like this were available to everyone.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Ronni brings up an excellent point. When you go to your doctor, ask if they have electronic medical records; same with hospitals in your area. Start putting presssure on them if they do not have this. There are grants available to hospitals and doctors offices to help offset the financial costs. And yes, you should at least keep a record of your medicines and over the counter stuff with you. Contact your local senior center or if you have a school of pharmacy in your area, contact them. Most will supply you with a foldable wallet size carrier for this.