Push Continues For Electronic Patient Records
Health care providers are continuing the task of transforming from the old method of paper records to a new network of digital ones.
"It’s increasingly frustrating for us and other providers that it’s difficult to find a workable interface," Dr. James. E. Sanders, chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Kansas City Medical Center, told the Associated Press.
One difficulty lies in the fact that providers have not yet developed a network that will allow for the sharing of patient record data among different health care institutions.
"Our systems don’t talk to each other," said Dr. Sanders.
Providers are trying to determine a viable way to share records in order to receive more than $17 billion in stimulus money from the US government. The stimulus was put in place as an incentive for health care providers to ensure a quicker adoption of electronic records.
However, the AP reported that the debate over interoperability ““ that is the ability to share records among different providers ““ is likely to be ongoing past intended goal of 2014.
Currently, less than 10 percent of health care providers have adopted electronic records.
Health care providers must determine the little details in how the information is presented in order for the new digital records system to take hold.
One option is a network of networks that would “resemble the model used in the banking industry for customers to access accounts through ATMs nationwide,” said the AP.
"We’re very committed to innovation and we’re very aware that the government is not the repository of all wisdom, especially in a field as dynamic as health information technology," said Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. "So we fully expect there will be a lot of different solutions to the exchange problem."
—
On the Net: