Patient Centered Solutions - Saving Lives and
Improving Quality Care
Health and healthcare is the biggest public policy
challenge in America today with an information-intensive
environment requiring patient-centered approaches to
solving problems Patient hand-offs are the weak link in
medical-information continuity. Currently, patient care
can be disrupted by the incompatibility of information
technology in different physicians' offices and
hospitals. In each care setting, patients and physicians
are frustrated by reliance on fax machines, telephones,
and patient memory to reassemble information that has
already been collected at least once before. This system
lends itself not only to inaccuracies, but is dangerous
for patients, wasteful, and expensive. Consider this:
•
"Despite spending $150 million in IT a
year, we still have a problem with
hand-offs." Dr. Tonya Hongsermeier,
corporate manager of clinical decision
support and knowledge management at Partners
HealthCare System Inc. in Boston
•
"As many as 98,000 preventable hospital
deaths occur each year due to medical errors.
Many of the causes of death were preventable,
such as communication breakdowns and diagnostic
delays" - Institute of Medicine
Exchanging data as personal and important as health
care information should be secure and easy, such that
the patient is empowered and can ensure information is
available with the patient at the time services are
provided. But today this is not the case. A recent
survey of nearly 1,300 family physicians who use
electronic health records in their practices found that
264 different software vendors were used and none of the
264 products currently shares data with any of the other
products. Often physicians have to rely on what the
patient remembers and existing vitals at the time of the
visit. In some instances, errors in diagnosis without
complete knowledge of patient history can be fatal.
The technology required to carry all necessary medical
data is a reality and requires simple innovative
approaches that work with and within the existing card
form-factor while protecting your identity and
maintaining privacy.
