Hi All,
Today I’m going to talk about
something you might have heard about in the news, but didn’t quite
understand. Or you might not have heard
of the topic – it might just be new to you.
But….if you go for your annual checkup in the next few years, you might
be faced with this at that point. What
am I talking about, you ask?
Electronic Medical/Health Records…Click here
for a link to Wikipedia.which discusses
what Electronic
Health Records are – and what they are NOT. This extensive Wikipedia
article covers terminology,
patient
considerations when Electronic Medical/Health Records are implemented, unintended
consequences of using EHR, privacy
and confidentiality issues and much more. Click on this link for an article from the New York Times in October 2012. Finally, for a more mainstream explanation of EMR's, click on this link from HealthIT.gov
CNN and Money combined
resources a few years back to create a website called CNNMoney. On this website
readers can find an insightful article (from 9/16/13) entitled ‘5
Things To Know About Electronic Health Records’.
One of the important issues the article discusses is privacy and security with respect to EMR's. Click on this link from the US Department of Health and Human Services for an article on 'The Privacy and Security Risks of Electronic vs. Paper Health Records.'
The other main point of the article '5 Things To Know About Electronic Health Records' is that they can save money. Click on this link from the New York Times for an OpEd piece from March 2012 entitled 'Do Electronic Medical Records Save Money?'
Finally, readers can follow this link to IHealthBeat.org to read May 2013 article entitled, 'Don't Forget: Electronic Health Records Are Benefiting Patients'.
So there you have it. A very quick primer on EMR's and how they will affect you as a consumer and as a patient in the coming years. Hope this helps - enjoy the links. And if you have any questions about the post or the links, you can send me email by clicking on this link.
Regards
Stu
