Most Physician offices now have an EMR/EHR solution that they are utilizing. This is a wonderful accomplishment as many patient’s medical records are now in electronic format. Another wonderful accomplishment, but unfortunately, I still can’t see mine.
I know my primary care doctor’s office has an EMR but I also know they still have a paper chart on me. When I go to a specialist, they have a different paper and electronic records on me, too. I know that if I want a copy of my records, I have to pay to get a copy….from every office that I am a patient. So, as a patient , I am perplexed as to how EMRs have helped me. As it stands right now, they haven’t. The Healthcare IT community is still in flux. There are hundreds of EMR in the market and yet they do not talk to each other or share records. As a patient, I cannot get and do not have access to a combined automatic electronic medical record of my health. This problem, leaves the door wide open for innovative solutions.
In the finance world, each and every one of us has a credit report. In fact, there are several sources to credit reports. It’s time the Healthcare IT community steps up to the plate and creates a common health bureau that everyone must report to so that patents can finally get access to their own health records.