Published: 2010-03-10 21:20:23
Author: Steven Kraus | Dynamic Chiropractic | February 26, 2010
Ever have one of your patients enter your office with a binder of medical paperwork? They have old X-rays, MRIs, and reports, articles downloaded from the Internet, and copies of correspondence between their GP and four different specialists.
They've been through it all, and rather than just tell you their history, they're actually bringing along the data to prove it. Now imagine this same scenario not with one complex patient every once and awhile, but with every new patient, every single day. The day is coming with personal health records (PHRs). It could transform your practice, because PHRs are well on their way to transforming our patients.
A PHR is the electronic version of the binder I just mentioned; the digital archive of your patient's health history gathered from all of their health care providers. The good thing is that it is more organized, concise and easily navigable to review than a giant binder. Rather than weighing pounds, it weighs nothing and is accessible to your patient via a dedicated PHR device, a cell phone, Net book or anything that connects to the Internet. It may contain digital versions of their radiography, history of successive lab tests, dosages of their medications and the recommended date for their first colonoscopy. It may contain end-of-life preferences and special directives in case of emergencies. It has all the security and privacy found in an electronic health record (EHR) but communicates in layman's terms. It's a lifelong resource of health care information, built just for them.
A PHR shouldn't be confused with an EHR, which is managed by the patient's multiple providers. The EHR is contained in a clinic's network and contains the records of everything necessary to care for that patient within that facility, including daily patient notes, history, radiology reports, lab tests and correspondence between providers if co-care is necessary or preferred. Depending on what the patient wants, there may be a lot of data overlap between the EHR and the PHR. The key distinction is that the patient controls their PHR, while the EHR is under the control of the doctor.
Of course, the data in the EHR ultimately can be requested and obtained by the patient, as they have the right to a digital copy of your EHR record of their care. A PHR gives the patient the power to actually assemble the data that belongs to them in a way that's convenient and instantaneous. It also saves them significant time and avoids redundant entries from filling out numerous new-patient intake forms as they go to new doctors. They now can import that data to the doctor who has an EHR. Patients are already expecting this kind of technology when they go to a doctor's office for the first time. They are tired of filling out the same paperwork over and over. There's also one other major distinction between the PHR and that binder; in the near future, the PHR will provide guidance with treatment options. It isn't just an archive.
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