My primary care physician in Florida put all of his, and his associates, patient notes and files on laptop computers. I liked this system -it was quick and easy for them and for us, the patients. When I needed copies of my medical records, the doc could pull them up and print them while I waited.
There was never a delay, or even a charge to retrive info for me. It occurred to me that if all doctors, and even hospitals, went to a digital record keeping system, it would be easier to keep patient histories consistent and up-to-date between providers. In the short run, it would likely cost money to set up the system, train people to use it, and enter existing records. In the long run, it would save money on office space, paper costs, employee clerical hours and any number of other budget items.
I did some reading on the topic and found a pretty interesting article on Wikipedia that you might enjoy reading. Keep in mind, much of Wikipedia writings come from a single author and often have no citations. Take it for what it's worth.
Print | posted @ Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:00 AM