http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/ Engadget Comments for Digital medical records by 2015? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
We're from the government, we're here to Big Brother you to death.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
So I'm all for the standardization effort (me siding with H. Clinton! I don't believe it!), but they need to ensure that individuals officially own the information.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/There are a lot of good things that can come out of making a nationwide standard (because it is badly needed), but I am with the rest of you in worrying that establishing standards is not worth government intervention.
Maybe if hospitals decided to work together (as well as medical instrument manufacturers) to get some standards set up then things might move faster (without GW getting involved....)]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
What's next, government regulating what format our music should be listened to, oh wait, they are already trying to standardize digital music formats.

The government tries to be noble, but all it does is create an ineffective bureaucracy.

Let the private industry digitize their records, and give the patient the ability to look at his/her own record, for free.

I'm all for securely digitizing health care records and potentially saving more lives, but the last time I checked, the only government standard that is universal, is taxes.
]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
What's next, government regulating what format our music should be listened to, oh wait, they are already trying to standardize digital music formats.

The government tries to be noble, but all it does is create an ineffective bureaucracy.

Let the private industry digitize their records, and give the patient the ability to look at his/her own record, for free.

I'm all for securely digitizing health care records and potentially saving more lives, but the last time I checked, the only government standard that is universal, is taxes, not digital healthcare portfolios, digital music, etc.
]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
UK here]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
The worst part is dragging the doctors and nurses kicking and screaming into the computer age. With nurses maybe it is about touch, feel & humanity, but with the doctors it is about fear and control (or fear of oversight?).

Right-patient, right-drug, right dosage, right-interactions. Would you send your mom to a hospital that DIDN'T barcode her arm and her medicines? Error rates of 0.1% drop a factor of 100 with good technology.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
1) Storage of medical information
Who would you like to see as the custodian of your medical records?
- Yourself? What if you loose your smartcard and with it all of your information including that EUR 2000,- MRI-scan you had done last year?
- Your government, maybe? What if government agencies misuse this information? Or segregationist policies are applied to persons with certain illnesses (say, mental illnesses or HIV)?
- Or a private company. What if it goes bankrupt? Or sells your health record?

2) Communication of medical information
IMHO the XML-based Clinical Document Architecture as proposed by HL7 http://www.hl7.org/ is the way to go. It defines only semantics and syntax, leaving implementation of security and transport to be resolved on a local level.

Whatever happens it is important that the patient retains control of his/her medical record. He or she should be able to access it at any time and any transfer of information should happen only with the patient's explicit consent.

What we need is a WHO approved open standard, that governments/health organizations can implement whenever and to what extent they see fit.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
Bottom line: electronic files are FAR MORE confidential than paper files.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
Personally I am not worried about the government. I am more worried about the fact that my doctor's computer system doesn't speak to my local hospital's computer system and if I end up in the ER I will be given a medication that kills me. Big brother is bad, death is worse.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/
There are too many disparate systems and locations where a medical record could reside: Doctors Office, Lab, Hospital, Insurance Company, Pharmacy, etc. It will take too long for the government to impose a clear standard to aggregate all of the information. However, if the patient/citizen takes control and shows the government and the medical profession that it has a tool, a Personal Medical Record System, that allows them to "pull" the information and control its destiny, then standards will be created more on a grassroots level. I honestly think that we are making this more complicated than it has to be. Take tubo-tax for example, do we all know the taxcode, no, but turbo-tax created a simple to use format to create a tax return. The same principle can be applied for medical records, create a system that allows the patient to compile as accurately as possible thier medical record. This is what the company that I have been working with has done.

Another idea, is to have the patient create a medical record and seek out the healthcare providers to confirm, and reimburse the faciliteis/professionals for confirmation, afterall it is a healthcare review. This will aleviate the healthcare facilities from feeling like they are doing something for nothing.

Another thought, realizing that a personal medical record system may not be ubiquitous due to lack of access to technology, a trusted third party ought to be able to assist in the compilation: Other family members, Trust Companies, Healthcare Power of Attorneys, and even Medicare and Medicaid.

In the end, we as patients own the information, and should dictate who has access. We should be responsible for compiling our medical records and deciding who should have access. Heck, have the government give us a tax break if we create a certified medical record. Enough rambling.]]>Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/05/digital-medical-records-by-2015/Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM