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The Need For Centralized Medical Records
By Carolyn O’Keefe, Thu Dec 8th
Consolidating your family’s medical records is one importantstep you can take to help insure your loved ones receive thebest health care. In this era of medical specialization, theavailability of centralized medical records can make a crucialdifference in outcomes. Accurate, centralized medical records can yield better careanywhere in the world If you’re like most people, you receiveyour health care from more than one doctor—a family medicinespecialist, an OB/GYN if you’re a woman, perhaps adermatologist, an orthopedist, or a cardiologist. That means therecords each physician gathers on your health and treatment arescattered across offices all over town, perhaps even all overthe region. Of course, you do your best to inform each doctor ofall of your conditions, tests, and treatments, but it’s hard toremember everything during an appointment and sometimes you maynot know what information is germane. Not having access to your complete medical record hasconsequences, some simply a nuisance,
others potentiallylife-threatening. You have to repeat your health and familyhistory to each new doctor you see. Tests may be unnecessarilyrepeated, wasting your time and money. Symptoms may beoverlooked leading to an inaccurate diagnosis. Dangerouscombinations of medications may be accidentally prescribed andcause serious health problems. (Article continued below)
There’s a solution to the problem of scattered medical recordsthat’s receiving a good deal of attention from healthprofessionals and insurers as well as from President Bush—theconsolidation of medical records to create a complete personalhealth profile. Americans want centralized, accessible health records The MarkleFoundation, a private foundation that focuses on acceleratingthe use of information and communication technologies to improvepeople’s lives particularly in health and national security, hasstudied the question of whether Americans would like to havecentralized medical records accessible via the Internet. Thestudy found over 70% of those questioned believe these recordswould improve the quality of care they receive. Physicians would also like to have access to more completecentralized records. With all of a patient’s medical history inone easily accessible place, physicians could work from morecomplete data, speeding the pace of diagnosis and gettingtreatment underway sooner. A consolidated record would alsoprovide the physician with “the big picture,” including familyhistory, medications prescribed and any reactions or potentialinteractions, lifestyle factors such as exercise, diet, andsmoking, and more. The end result would be safer, moreeffective, more efficient care. “In this day and age, it’s all about communication,” believesDr. William Queale, an internist who treats patients in hisconcierge practice in suburban Maryland. “As a primary carephysician, an important part of my job is to coordinate the caremy patients receive. Most see a number of sub-specialists and Ineed the information from those other doctors consolidated andreadily available to me to make decisions. Otherwise theinformation remains fragmented and details could fall throughthe cracks and make the delivery of health care less efficient.” For most, consolidated medical records are still years awayThere are a number of public and private projects just gettingunderway designed to create consolidated medical records. Lastyear, Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services TommyThompson announced a 10-year plan the government hoped wouldspeed up the creation of online health records by kicking offseveral pilot programs through Medicare. HMO giant KaiserPermanente is halfway through a $2 million initiative to putmembers’ health records on a network that can be accessed byKaiser’s health care providers and hospitals. Even a privategroup of entrepreneurial physicians have entered the field,creating a membership-based service that allows patients toinput health information into an individualized web site.Perhaps the largest and most ambitious project is beingundertaken in academia. In March 2004, Duke University announcedits Fuqua School of Business and School of Medicine had joinedforces and created a non-profit foundation to investigate andeventually develop what the foundation calls a Health RecordNetwork. In a press release last summer, the foundationdescribed the project this way: “In designing the Health RecordNetwork, Duke leaders envision a service that will provide toclinical systems across the country anywhere/anytime access topatient health information. This, in turn, is expected toimprove patient outcomes and reduce health care costs.” The Duke project envisions the establishment of an onlinepersonal electronic health record where patients input their ownhealth information. That information could then be accessed,with the patient’s permission, by any health care professionaltreating him or her as well as by the patient. The goal of theproject is three-fold—to improve health care outcomes, toempower people to understand and more actively manage theirhealth and health care, and to lower costs. The development of the Health Record Network is still in theearliest stages, however, with pilot programs being designed totest the concept in Toronto and Wyoming. Centralized medical records and the careful attention of anadvocate bring better treatment and peace of mind While thereare a number of medical records centralization projects on thedrawing board around the country, members of PinnacleCare arereaping the many benefits of centralized records today. Members’ records are carefully gathered, compiled, and scannedinto a computer to create a digital record to which Members andtheir physicians have fast, secure access. Each member’soriginal paper records are stored in a locked, fireproof vault. When a PinnacleCare Member recently saw a specialist for kidneyproblems, the physician was amazed that he had brought hiscomplete medical history with him. The doctor commented thatwith the full records immediately available, he was able toprovide a much better, more efficient level of care to theMember. Because the information is in a compact digital format, it caneasily be transferred at any time to any location around theglobe if the need arises. The firm currently is in the processof developing a medical records flash drive keychain device thatwill allow Members to carry their health history with them andpresent the flash drive at a physician’s office or even in anemergency room. Plans are also underway for the creation of ahighly secure online site that allows access to a Members’complete health record anywhere there’s Internet access. That around-the-clock, around-the-world access is especiallyvaluable to people who travel. Two PinnacleCare Members who liveon their yacht for several months each year off the coast ofPanama and feel more secure knowing their medicalrecords are always within reach. PinnacleCare compiled completemedical records for each member of the family and also providedthem with information on the best doctors and medical facilitiesnear their ports of call. The couple now travels with theknowledge that, should they fall ill or be injured while awayfrom home, they can easily and promptly be connected with thebest health care available. In addition to centralizing each Member’s medical records,PinnacleCare offers something none of the other medical recordsconsolidation projects provide—the attention, expertise, andadvice of a personal PinnacleCare Advocate teamTM. Thisspecialized and professional team reviews Members’ records atthe beginning of the Membership and they often note importantconditions or symptoms Members forget to mention to theirphysicians or find out that needed follow-up testing has notoccurred. That was the case for a healthy, active 24-year-old PinnacleCareMember who recently broke his collarbone and had surgery torepair it. During his recovery, he fainted. After reviewing hismedical records, his PinnacleCare Advocate noted the Member hada longstanding history of fainting and informed his surgeon.Instead of assuming the one episode of fainting was related totaking pain medicine on an empty stomach, the Member was seenfor a complete neurological evaluation to determine whether thefainting was related to the surgery, or was, in fact, a separateissue. Another PinnacleCare Advocate found a physician’s note in aMember’s records recommending follow up for elevated cholesterollevels, but found no further follow up had been completed. Afterchecking with the Member and learning that the issue was neverresolved, the PinnacleCare Advocate immediately scheduled anappointment with the Member’s physician for testing. Thephysician then prescribed the appropriate medication and themember’s cholesterol is now under control. By combining the benefits of complete, centralized medicalrecords with the personal attention provided by a PinnacleCareAdvocate, PinnacleCare Members are years ahead in their questfor the most effective, efficient care for themselves and theirfamilies. About the author:PinnacleCare provides private health management services toMembers and their families. For more information, contactCarolyn O’Keefe, COKeefe@PinnacleCare.com www.PinnacleCare.com | 