By Bruce Japsen |
Nearly $19 million in federal stimulus money is coming to Illinois to
help develop a statewide health information exchange that will allow
doctors and hospitals to “electronically share health information,”
Gov. Pat Quinn said.
To jumpstart the effort, Quinn signed an executive order to create the Illinois Office of Health Information Technology.
“Electronic health records are the future of health care in America,” Quinn said.”The Office of Health Information Technology and this important federal investment will ensure that Illinois is at the forefront of developing and implementing this technology that is critical to improving our health-care system.”
I APPLAUD THIS VERY VIGOROUSLY. I AM A HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT & BECAUSE OF IDIOTIC “PRIVACY” LAWS, I HAVE HAD TO JUMP THROUGH DOZENS OF HOOPS TO GET MY RECORDS IN THE HANDS OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS.
FOR EXAMPLE, NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SAVED MY LIFE & HAS TAKEN EXCELLENT (THOUGH, EXPENSIVE) CARE OF ME BEFORE & SINCE MY TRANSPLANT, BUT, BECAUSE OF DIFFERING SOFTWARE, THE HOSPITAL RECORDS IN THE HOSPITAL ARE NOT ELECTRONICALLY AVAILABLE TO THE DOCTORS WHO CARE FOR ME & VICE VERSA.
RECORDS ARE NOT UNIVERSALLY AVAILABLE TO PATIENTS OR TO REMOTE LOCATIONS IN CASES OF EMERGENCY NECESSITY WITHOUT FILLING OUT A FISTFUL OF FORMS. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PATIENT IS UNCONSCIOUS–WHO IS GOING TO GIVE PATIENT-ONLY APPROVAL BY SIGNING HIPPA FORMS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME.
AS EXCELLENT A HOSPITAL & ITS DOCTORS ARE (THE BEST!!), PATIENT RECORDS AT NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL & NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FACULTY FOUNDATION (THE DR’S) ARE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY TO PATIENTS FROM ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF THE “CLINICS” (MY DAUGHTER’S ARE, MINE ARE NOT).
IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO VIEW MY EXAM, IMAGING, LAB REPORTS, & OPINIONS AT MY HOME COMPUTER. ALL FILES/RESULTS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME. THERE MUST BE A WORK AROUND FOR THE IDIOTIC, WAY OVER-PROTECTING, HIPPA SYSTEM.
IF MY LOCAL “PREFERRED PROVIDER” NEEDS TO SEE MY LATEST LAB WORK FROM ANOTHER MEDICAL CENTER, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO ELECTRONICALLY VIEW IT INSTANTLY FROM HOME & PRINT IT OUT (THE SAME GOES FOR MY LOCAL DR. IN CASE I CANNOT BE AVAILABLE TO REQUEST IT MYSELF).
THE SYSTEM IS SHOT THROUGH WITH “STUPID”. I CANNOT STOP BY MY WIFE’S SURGEON’S OFFICE TO FIND OUT WHEN HER APPOINTMENT FOR SURGERY IS WHILE SHE IS OUT OF THE COUNTRY ON BUSINESS–SHE MUST RETURN TO THIS COUNTRY TO FIND THAT HER SURGERY IS THIS AFTERNOON, HERSELF.
THERE ARE THREE ISSUES TO SOLVE: ALL THIS HIPPA NONSENSE , THE ABILITY OF PATIENTS AND/OR THEIR PHYSICIANS TO INSTANTLY VIEW/PRINT THE PATIENT’S RECORDS, & REMOVING THE PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL FEARS AMONGST DOCTORS & HOSPITALS THAT MAKING THESE FILES AVAILABLE WILL SOMEHOW BRING A TORRENT OF LAW SUITS.
IT IS SAD THAT WE ARE SO LITIGIOUS, BUT, SOMEONE TAUGHT US–SOMEONE KILLED/INJURED ENOUGH PATIENTS THAT FINALLY THAT DOCTOR/HOSPITAL DID GET SUED & LOST!! OKAY, GET OVER IT & DO BETTER. EXPLAIN PROCEDURES & THEIR PERILS BETTER. RE-PERSONALIZE THE SYSTEM & RESPOND TO PATIENTS’ REQUESTS. WE DON’T WANT TO FILL OUT 10 FORMS TO SEE OUR FILES, WE DON’T WANT A DIFFERENT PASSWORD FOR EACH CLINIC, DOCTOR, & HOSPITAL.
AS I HAVE SAID, “THERE ARE NO LIBERALS IN FOXHOLES” & “THE ONLY WAY STOP SIGNS APPEAR ON BUSY STREETS IS TO HAVE THE CITY COUNCILMAN’S KID TO GET RUN OVER”. WHEN ONE OF THE IMPORTANT BUREAUCRATS NEEDS HI/HER MEDICAL RECORDS WITHOUT SIGNING HIS/HER UNCONSCIOUS LIFE AWAY, THEN, THINGS WILL CHANGE–.
WE NEED ELECTRONIC, UNIVERSAL, INSTANT MEDICAL RECORD AVAILABILITY–NOW!!
TX,
JOHN F. NEWBURY, PhD
Whoa there, captain Caps Lock.
“All this HIPAA nonsense?” Are you crazy or just delusional?
Electronic systems will have an even higher impact on this “HIPAA nonsense” because it’s all going to be accounted for.
Hence the “AA” in HIPAA – Accountability.
If you think you can drag and drop or send over GMail someone’s info, you’re sadly mistaken.
(I audit HIPAA compliance, by the way — I’m a security engineer. Almost went to work for Epic Systems, who FWIW would gladly take that $18M and give CoC tried-and-true software).
Oh, and by the way, they also have electronic access for patients through a product called MyChart – which lets them talk to their Doctors / Nurses electronically.
When you say “NOW,” you’re being reactionary. $18M is nowhere near enough – and it would take 5+ years at an aggressive time schedule – to come up with, design and stage a system that can do what you want.
Five years ago, your medical records resided in a manilla folder at your GP’s office, and if someone else wanted them after-hours, tough titties, they have to work with what they have.
If you are indeed married, and happen to know her DOB, you can get certain levels of PHI over the phone. Tho from the tone of your post, you seem like one of those guys that says, “Oh my GOD!” when there are two people in front of you at a checkout aisle, and abandons his entire cart so he can go complain about not having instant universal cashier access.
I take it your Ph.D. is not in medicine. If it is, sir, I suggest you wait until the booze has worn off before you hit “Submit” on a post to the Interwebs.
Medical professionals are entitled to their opinions. You are not entitled, sir, to stir up the pot with this nonsense. The article talked about how IL is making progress, and you go and disclose PHI to an *anonymous* audience re your family.
If anyone is reckless in this situation, it’s not this site nor is it me, or our government.
-jgr
PS/Very “Classy” of you to bring up the past about having that child run over. I ask you: How would “instant medical electronic records” have helped her? Don’t be sleazy. Good day.
I think the headline is a little misleading. THis money is NOT for Medical Records. It is for a Health information exchange. Just like the voice exchange the phone company has. It is for the backbone network that will be used to someday transfer the information. The hospitals and doctors will still all need medical records–This money does nothing to develop medical records, just move them around.