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6 Ways Electronic Medical Records Could Make Your Life Safer and Easier

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I KNOW this is the worst idea that 'THE POWERS THAT BE' have come up with yet! I actively worked in the medical field as a ER, Critical Care, and Trauma RN,& I can't begin to tell you how many times information was documented ON THE WRONG CHART (never corrected, even when called to the appropriate personnel's attention).
This is the worst idea 'they' have come up with yet! I FULLY AGREE with the comment about the victims of Katrina,&PRAY FOR THEM TO THIS DAY,but that is why one should ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF THEIR MEDICAL RECORDS,& A BACKUP PLAN-HAVE A FRIEND, RELATIVE,ETC. TO HAVE ONE FOR SAFE KEEPING.NO, this would not mean they'd have it all-BUT WOULD definitely be more accurate and pretty d*** close to complete and up-to-date. I say this because MY MEDICAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN STOLEN & USED, & THE INSURANCE CO.S' NOR MEDICARE HAVE DONE ONE THING ABOUT GETTING ALL OF THE INCORRECT INFORMATION OFF OF MY RECORDS!
SO THERE IT IS, FOR ME TO TRY AND EXPLAIN, WHEN I GO TO A DOCTOR AND THEY PULL UP THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE GUESS WHAT HAPPENS? THEY THINK THAT YOU HAVE BEEN EITHER LYING TO THEM OR,EVEN WORSE,THAT YOU HAVE JUST DOCTOR SHOPPED ALL OVER THE PLACE! SO,this goes on your so called 'MOST ACCURATE' Electronic Health Records TOO,along with whatever the doctor you are trying to get in to see as a new patient adds to it!So I ASK you,with Medicare, along with all of the other 'cuts' that have affected those who cannot afford PRIVATE INSURANCE,(which is most,as alot cannot even afford premiums for 'advantage plans',& all the other 'WONDERFUL' THINGS MEDICARE HAS TO OFFER EACH YEAR WHEN THEY SEND OUT THEIR NEW BOOKS).DON'T YOU THINK THAT 19 BILLION $$ COULD HAVE BEEN USED IN OTHER WAYS THAT COULD HAVE HELPED, MORE PEOPLE? OH,& NEVER FORGET THE 'COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT',THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE THE LAST YEAR PRES. BUSH WAS IN OFFICE-HE DID GET A FEW THINGS RIGHT,AS THE GOV'T CLAIMS THAT THE COST OF LIVING HAS NOT GONE UP?DO YOU ALL NOT FIND THAT PREPOSTEROUS? ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS,& NEVER FORGET THE WONDERFUL 'E-SCRIBING',IS JUST 1 MORE WAY THE GOV'T. HAS FOUND TO WASTE MONEY,ADD TO THE HUGE DEFICIT WE ALREADY FACE,& PUT EVERYONE,YES, EVERYONE,AT EVEN GREATER RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT, WHICH I HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF 6 TIMES, TO GO ALONG WITH MY MEDICAL INFORMATION THEFT! SO TO EMR'S', I DON'T JUST SAY NO, I SAY H*** NO! NO,NO,NO!
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DECIDE IF WE WANT OUR INFO 'SHARED', AND HAVE THE OPTION TO 'OPT-OUT'! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY, HIPPA, AND ALL OF OUR OTHER 'RIGHTS', PRIVACY & ALL OTHERS?
DO WE REALLY HAVE ANY ANYMORE? I, FOR ONE, AM BEGINNING TO WONDER?
WHAT ABOUT YOU?

CeeCee of GA 10:24AM February 10, 2011

I don't understand how a medical professional would call electronic medical records unimportant or unnecessary. Look at the situation after hurricane Katrina. Hospitals and medical facilities where destroyed, all medical records where lost. People from that area had to be relocated. Many of these people had cancer, where undergoing treatments, taking medication. Upon evacuation, do you really think they had time to get copies of their medical records and prescriptions? NO, they did not. Had all their medical records been stored in digital format, the new physicians would have been able to pick up where the other left off, essentially eliminating the need for repeating tests, labs, and so on.
Come on all you Medical People, get off you duffs and get it right. There is no excuse for not implementing EMR's.

Robin of AZ 1:51PM October 08, 2010

As a physician I would like to save people visits to the doctor if something can be done without a face to face visit: however I dont get paid for anything I dont do face to face. I do need to pay my bills and make a living, so this wont be widespread until doing online medicine is paid for. The reason you play phone tag for results is because for your protection,they are reviewed by staff with medical licenses and medical understanding before being released. You will still have to ask the doctor for interpetation of tests; insurers and labs dont have licenses to practice medicine.
There is very little in medical records that is really important and current resords and technology dont help us see the wood for the trees. I believe in giving patients a health summary and copies of important pathology results and operative reports and EKGs-all the stuff other doctors treating a patient would really want to know. The hard part of all of this is how to flag the important stuff and transfer it securely over the internet.
Insurers have already made doctors typists and coders for their convenience instead of medical practitioners. Now we need to be data entry people as well.
Electronic medical records SLOW us down. Not only are electronic medical records expensive but they make more work for us right now that we are not paid for.
Most electronic prescriptioner checkers flag unimportant interactions and arent very helpful yet. Patients need to be aware that EVERY medication, even correctly taken for the right reason has a risk. The ones with big problems are insulin, coumadin and digoxin and antibioics.
Your medical record contains so many personal details , such as where you work, your family's names etc and often even a copy of your drivers licence . Tailor made for identity theft .
Do you really want your personal information all over the internet and people you dont even know about to have access to that information. Believe me it has happened and will again. Your cellphone is even less secure than your computer.

Marta Jacenyik MD of FL 6:31PM July 03, 2010

http://electronicmedicalrecords-emr.com
Doctors are in dinosaur days of managing medicine. No other business could run in today's world with their method of "paper" for everything.
My kids in school do more on the computer than most doctor's offices.

electronic of OH 6:23PM March 16, 2010

did you ever hear of the telephone and FAX? our medical office is always vailable to confer with other physicians. we give our patients copies of their ecgs and labs when they plan to trvel. there is no way an individual doc will invest 40k or more to convert to emr,especially when so many vendors do not connect with one another. it is a sham, a make work project for ibm, intel, microsoft, dell and whoever. a total waste of 19 billion $$S

sue lyon of NJ 10:09PM May 05, 2009

Interesting that the author's examples did not relate to the electronic medical records that are currently available, but had to do with inter-connectivity. Connecting the various parts of the health care system is what is neede4d. EMRs, as presently available, are great collectors of data in an office or hospital, but cannot "talk" to other systems without a great deal of time, energy and expense. Perhaps the love affair with EMRs should be replaced by what this author really was talking about: electronic interchange over a secure channel of health care information. Commonly called a "health information exchange," this concept has been markedly absent from recent discussion in Washington about changing health care. We don't need EMRs, we need health exchanges. They are not the same.

Harry L. Doerr, MD, MHSA of MI 2:01PM March 31, 2009

I tried to obtain a copy of my medical records from the company that comprises the data base because I was refused insurance coverage. They just ignored my request and to this day, I don't know on what basis my insurance application was denied. All of my tests for just about everything - heart, colon, treadmill, EKG, chest, etc. were fine. I take occasion BP pills when under stress, otherwise my BP averaged 120/80 when not rushed, hassled, or stressing. While it appears a daunting task to get one's own medical records from this bureau, the insurance companies, credit card companies, marketing companies and criminals will no doubt have no problem accessing the medical database.

Tony Lee of CA 3:51PM March 20, 2009

They can't even get electronic voting done securely, and they want medical records?!?!
No thanks, I'll take the gray market approach, take my chances and visit the back-alley quack for cash on the barrelhead.

Rich of CO 11:10AM March 20, 2009

Now this is truly a scary thought. And that is true about the court procedures. you won't have any proof in handwritting to bring with you to court. Others will have access to kyour Medical Records as well. I'd rethink befor I would concider this move.

Lowena of CA 3:41PM March 12, 2009

Now this is truly a scary thought. And that is true about the court procedures. you won't have any proof in handwritting to bring with you to court. Others will have access to kyour Medical Records as well. I'd rethink befor I would concider this move.

Lowena of CA 3:41PM March 12, 2009